By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
It has become the mantra of the building project for the Bowling Green High School: On time and on budget.
And it was repeated multiple times during a special Board of Education meeting Monday afternoon when the remaining bids for the new school were approved.
“This keeps us on time and on budget,” Superintendent Ted Haselman said with a smile.
This was the fourth and by far largest construction amount approved by the board, at nearly $65 million of the total project cost of $72.8 million.
It’s this last bid portion that has kept Haselman up at night, he said. The final numbers are a relief.
“This gets us to the finish line,” he said.
Eric Slink, the project engineer with project manager Rudolph Libbe, said 56 total bids were submitted for the 25 packages for items such as plumbing and mechanical work. Each package had two or three bidders, Slink said.
“This is a great project,” which attracted the number of bidders, Haselman said.
In most cases, the bids were awarded to the firms submitting the lowest costs, while in a few the “best” bids close to the lowest were accepted, Slink said.
The work covered by the bids covered two pages, including such items as concrete, masonry, steel, roofing, glazing, door hardware, and wood athletic flooring, Haselman listed off.
Monday’s board approval will complete the new high school project, with the next step then to be demolition of a portion of the existing high school with the remaining being left as an activity center.
The bids are in budget – and are expected to have the new high school ready for students to move in for classes by the fall of 2027.
The special board meeting on Monday was necessary because Rudolph Libbe had just completed its review of all the bids last Wednesday – right before the school board held its regular monthly meeting.
Haselman said he did not want to rush the bids for a vote, nor risk any delays by not approving the bids until the board’s November meeting.
“They want to keep rolling,” Haselman said of Rudolph-Libbe’s plan to continue work.
Slick said contractors have been working on the underground utilities on the site, and will be moving onto the building pad, then footers. The foundation is expected to be completed by the end of this month, with steelwork to be done by the end of November to early December.
The contract sets April 8, 2027, as the deadline for having the new high school substantially enclosed. The next big date will be July 30, 2027, when the school district should be able to occupy the building. And by Sept. 30, 2027, the contract calls for the school to be substantially complete.
