Board discusses bids for high-school courtyard and middle-school pavilion; members flag low bid

District staff presented bids for two capital projects: a concrete courtyard (Site 1) at Cannon County High School and a pavilion at Cannon County Middle School. The presenter said one bidder submitted two separate site bids and recommended moving forward with Site 1 now while not pursuing Site 2 given limited funds.

Board members noted a large variance in pavilion bids and raised the possibility the low bidder omitted scope items. A board member asked whether location maps, design plans, and contract language (including weather-delay provisions and a written notice requirement) had been provided; staff said they would supply those documents before the board meeting on Thursday.

Staff emphasized contract terms: the bid form required labor, materials, equipment, permits and supervision to be included and specified completion timelines; the presenter said bids were only good for a 30-day period from acceptance. Board members suggested verifying the low bidder’s references and confirming scope compliance before awarding the contract to avoid downstream change orders.

Student involvement and CTE tradeoffs: some members proposed using student labor or CTE program work for aspects of the project; others argued the concrete outdoor classroom would serve a broader student population. Staff said the high-school CTE instructor had grant funding to support certain capital projects and that priorities would be weighed against senior-program equipment requests.

Next steps: staff will provide design drawings, location maps, contract details, and any outstanding bid clarifications to the board before the scheduled Thursday vote; the workshop did not finalize award decisions.