Kilgore ISD board approves guaranteed maximum price for Chandler Elementary gym project

The Kilgore ISD Board of Trustees on Monday approved a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the Chandler Elementary gym addition and selected construction alternates, authorizing staff to proceed with the package the district presented.

Architect Kendall Edwards and contractor Jackie Campbell described a base GMP that covers a new gym and minimal site work, plus several alternates the board could add: demolish and slab the existing gym (alternate 1), convert the existing gym to a covered play area with infill and a new student drop-off loop (alternates 2 and 3), and an additional road connection estimated to reduce on-site stacking (alternate 4 in the presentation). The presentation listed a base GMP of about $3.885 million; adding alternates 2 and 3 would bring the GMP to about $4.999 million, and adding further site work could push the GMP to about $5.211 million. Smaller optional items such as wall pads were itemized as lower-cost alternates.

Board discussion focused on timeline, permitting and code changes: presenters said early permitting under the current building code avoids a future requirement to build an expensive storm shelter tied to a code update, allowing the district to keep costs within the GMP under current rules. The construction team said the target is to complete primary work in time for the next school year (fall 2027), depending on alternates and site work.

District finance staff told trustees a preliminary review of bond funds and conservative arbitrage assumptions showed sufficient bond capacity to cover the chosen package and still leave roughly $1 million in bond funds. Officials noted arbitrage calculations that could affect the final available amount were still pending but expected soon.

A trustee moved and the board voted to approve the GMP as presented with the agreed alternates; the motion carried.