Board approves multimillion-dollar secure vestibules and renovations at multiple Millard schools
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Summary
The board approved contracts and guaranteed maximum prices totaling several million dollars for secure vestibules and interior renovations at multiple elementary and middle schools, including approved GMPs of $3.27M for Abbott and $3.76M for Russell plus multiple award contracts for other schools.
The Millard Public Schools board approved several construction contracts and guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs) for secure vestibules and related renovation work at district schools during its Dec. 1 meeting.
Key approvals included: awarding a Cather Elementary secure vestibule contract to Doctor Anderson Constructors for $1,517,000; approving a GMP of $3,265,655 for Abbott Elementary’s secure vestibule and interior renovations; approving a $3,758,649 GMP for Russell Middle School’s secure vestibule; and awarding other vestibule contracts (Black Elk $1,292,609 to NRP Construction; Montclair $682,300 to Doctor Anderson). The board also approved a $151,811.07 contract portion to Meteor and $15,173.70 to Virco for Neidhart Elementary furniture replacement, and a $50,000 contract to Downs Electric for Central Middle School exterior lighting upgrades.
Staff explained bid-splitting to capture low bids on different items and said they performed extra due diligence on contractors for larger secure-vestibule projects. A staff member noted extra reference checks and walkthroughs with low and second-low bidders before recommending awards.
Why it matters: The secure vestibule program is part of the district’s multi-year facility safety investments (work has been funded and phased following a 2020 bond); the approved GMPs and contracts represent significant capital outlays that will affect school construction schedules and community impacts near affected buildings.
Vote and next steps: Each contract and GMP was approved by roll call. Staff and the CFO were authorized to execute related project documents; the board discussed staging and lessons learned so later projects can benefit from early installations.
Quotes from the meeting: "We did some extra due diligence even more so than what we normally do, including calling some other references," a staff member said of contractor vetting for secure vestibules.
"We're gonna continue to get better with each one," a staff member said when discussing lessons learned across projects.
The board moved from facilities approvals to district reports later in the agenda.