By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
School’s almost out for the summer, but there will be no vacation for Bowling Green City School District’s new high school construction process.
Superintendent Ted Haselman presented the school board last week with three companies in the running for the construction manager role for the new high school. The firms are Gilbane Building Co., Mosser Construction and Rudolph Libbe.
The board voted unanimously to seek statements of qualifications plus technical and pricing proposals from the three firms up for consideration for the construction manager-at-risk position. The firms will be ranked based on the information collected.
Haselman reported that work is continuing to move the practice field currently west of the middle school to make room for a parking area there. Testing for geothermal energy prospects in that area has shown that the site will work for geothermal heating and cooling at the new high school.
In fact, Haselman said, testing has shown that about 130 wells will be needed for the geothermal system – rather than the 230 predicted earlier. That will decrease the costs, he said.
Also at last week’s school board meeting, President Tracy Hovest expressed gratitude for a school year of growth – for students, teachers, administrators and staff. And she thanked the community for support.
“It feels good to be moving forward in a new direction,” Hovest said, with a new high school in the works. “We should be proud of that.”
In other business at the board meeting, Hovest mentioned the state’s new requirement that school districts develop policies for student cell phone use in school. Haselman said the district will be studying the issue.
Also at the meeting, Steve Bateson thanked the board members for holding their regular monthly meeting in Portage Village Hall. Rural citizens of the district have been asking the board to hold some of their meetings in more rural areas of the district, rather than holding all of them in the Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green.
Bateson thanked Portage Mayor Mark Wolford for allowing the school board to use the town building, and he noted the good attendance, with people filling the meeting room.
“This is an excellent way to reach out to all in the community,” Bateson said.
