West Noble board authorizes bids for first-phase elementary and high-school renovation packages totaling about $4.2 million

The West Noble School Corporation board voted to authorize bid documents for the first phase of the district's 2026 bond projects, approving plans that would advance elementary cafeteria and classroom work and high-school band, choir and office renovations.

Superintendent (speaking during the report) said updated plans and pricing have come in and that alternates already identified by staff and the design team had trimmed roughly $394,000 from earlier estimates. "If we don't stay on schedule here, we'll miss that June 1 construction date," the superintendent said, urging the board to publish bid packages so work can begin on the elementary and high-school improvements.

The superintendent gave partial cost breakdowns: the elementary kitchen, cafeteria and classroom work was cited at about $960,000 and the high-school band/office package at roughly $3.2 million, producing a first-half total of about $4.2 million. He said those are the packages the district would like to move forward with first to preserve the construction timeline.

Board members asked questions about the remainder of the bond package, including the transportation building and baseball/softball field work. One trustee expressed concern about spending significant sums now on fields when program participation is uncertain; another trustee and the superintendent said relocating the transportation building or preparing alternative sites would add at least $1 million and could create recurring short-term fixes rather than a long-term solution. "If you do a field right, it naturally drains," the superintendent said, arguing that a properly built site could last decades instead of requiring repeated fixes.

On the vote to publish the bid packages, a motion was made and seconded and approved by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. The superintendent said state permit applications that arrived that evening would be signed so the district can proceed on schedule.

Next steps: staff will publish the bid packages and accept bids, then return with bid results and recommendations for contract awards. The board will continue to consider work on the transportation building and athletic facilities as staff seeks to reduce costs on those later phases.