Board approves $771,000 roof project and $1.2M solar installation; district expects ~ $400,000 net cost after grants

The Bradford Exempted Village School Board voted to move forward with a multi-phase roof replacement and a solar-panel installation after hearing a facilities report that combined grant awards, projected incentives and vendor estimates.

Superintendent said the roofing project’s Phase A — covering the gym, auditorium and band room — will start immediately under a contract that lists $771,000 before rebates and is required to be substantially started before Dec. 31. "That is coming to us at a price of $771,000 before rebates," he told the board, adding the contract includes a 100-day completion clause for Phase A.

He described a separate solar proposal: 304 kilowatts of panels listed at $1,200,000 before a $500,000 grant and tax incentives. "After everything's done there, we expect that to be just under $400,000 cost to the district," the Superintendent said, and an outside estimate from the vendor projected a 7-to-11-year payback period.

Because grant and tax-incentive timelines were time-sensitive, the Superintendent asked the board to declare an urgent necessity and to proceed without a conventional bidding process so work could meet those deadlines. The board approved the urgent-procurement action by roll call.

The board then approved the roofing contract and the solar contract in separate votes. Roll-call records indicate Mrs. Brewer, Mr. Biesecker and Mrs. Hill voted yes on the contracts. The Superintendent said the solar array should offset 40–50% of the district’s electric bills once installed and projected the array’s working life in decades: modern panels were said to have life expectancies of 30–40 years.

The board’s approvals set the district to move forward with contracts and with architect solicitation on other field-house work. There were no motions to alter the project scopes at the meeting.