RV OKs bids for two-story addition

Bids for the construction of a new two-story addition at Royal Valley High School came in under budget, and the board of education awarded the project to Shirley Construction of Topeka for a total cost of $3,005,866.

During the board of education’s meeting Monday evening, the board met with Maria Kutina of HTK Architects of Topeka to review the three bids submitted for the project.

Shirley Construction’s bid includes a base bid of $2,898,000 plus alternates one (a recording room), two (additional exterior brick work), three (resinous flooring) and four (casework) for the $3,005,866 total.

The other bids received included $3,239,843 from Icon Structures Inc. of Wichita and $3,341,000 from AHRS of Bern.

The new two-story addition on the south side of the RVHS building will include new classrooms for band, art and agricultural teachers and students. 

 The new band room is about twice the size of the current band room and will include storage room for instruments, three practice rooms and an office. 

The new art room on the second floor will be similar in size to the current art room and will also include an area for storage.

The new first floor ag room will also be similar in size to the current ag room, but the new room layout creates “more usable space,” according to Superintendent Aaric Davis. 

In addition, two other classrooms will be built on the first floor for future needs. Bathrooms and additional storage are also included in the first-floor plans. 

This spring, the board secured a new $5.3 million lease purchase with a 2.779 percent interest rate, a portion of which will be used to build the new addition.

Kutina originally estimated that the RVHS project would total $4,450,000. 

“We had a meeting on site for potential contractors to ask any questions, and we had more than 25 people come, which was really good,” Kutina said. “There was a lot of interest in the project.”

Kutina has talked to Shirley Construction personnel, who said they were able to come in lower with their bid due to the “timing of the project,” which is set to begin in December. 

“It was attractive to them,” she said. “It’s a good size project that someone can make some money on it doing the work.”

Lease purchase funds are also being used to renovate the front office and library at the middle school. That project is estimated at $610,000, and those bids are still being sought and will be opened in September. 

With the RVHS addition bid coming in lower the expected, Davis said the district will have an estimated $965,210 in additional lease purchase funds available for another project at either the middle school or high school. 

He asked board members to think about what projects might be of interest or of benefit to the district. 

“It’s kind of fun to be able to do more than what we thought we could do,” Davis said. 

In other business, the board:

* Approved the agenda.

* Approved consent items as presented, including the minutes from the Aug. 8 meeting, the treasurer’s report and warrants. 

* Accepted a $500 donation from Johnsonville Holton to help with costs associated with the countywide career fair taking place in November. 

The board also accepted a $2,000 donation from ServiceMaster for the RVHS dance team. 

* Held public comment. No comments were made.

* Held board discussion. Board President Boone Smith said that with interest rates on the rise, he is glad the board opted to seek a lease purchase earlier this year instead of next year. 

* Was introduced to new district employees, including Mollie Hoffman, fourth-grade teacher; Taylor McDiffett, first-grade teacher; Brianna Spence, seventh-grade English teacher; and Erin Carlson, business teacher at RVHS.

* Appointed Ann Kelly as the Kansas Association of School Boards delegate assembly voting member. 

* Approved a trip request to allow members of the RVHS FFA chapter and sponsor Kim Clark to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. at the end of October. The students will pay their own expenses, and the district will cover up to $1,400 for Clark’s expenses. 

* Received updated enrollment projections from Davis. The district is reporting 15 additional students, so far, this school year compared to last year for a total of 855 students. 

* Discussed the timeline for Davis’ superintendent evaluation. The process begins in September with Davis’ self-evaluation.

* Heard a report from Noah Slay, director of curriculum and instruction on a new science curriculum program called OpenSci that fifth and eighth grade science teachers are piloting this fall.

The OpenSci curriculum is free, but there is some expense for items needed for experiments and other activities.

Slay said the district intends to fully adopt the new curriculum for the 2023-24 school year. 

* Approved new district policies in order to be in compliance with a state law that took effect July 1. 

* Held a revenue neutral rate hearing at 7:15 p.m. followed by the budget hearing at 7:25 p.m. Following the hearings, the board approved the budget as presented.

The new budget includes a 1.4 mill decrease to fund the district’s 2022-23 budget. With an increase in assessed valuation, the district is still expected to collect additional tax dollars. 

The new budget is funded by 43.245 mills, which is down 1.446 mills from the 44.691 mills used to fund last year’s budget. It includes levying 20 mills for the general fund, 15.245 mills for the Local Option Budget (LOB) and 8 mills for capital outlay. 

* Approved resolution 2022-10, which authorizes the district to use a 31 percent Local Option Budget percentage for the 2022-23 school year. 

* Approved the Holton Special Education Cooperative agreement amendment. The amendment provides guidance on how real property will be distributed if the cooperative ceases to exist. 

* Offered employment contracts to Austin Doty, RVMS head boys basketball coach; Amanda Sutton, bus paraprofessional; Jamie Sexton, bus paraprofessional; Deeanna Lankford, RVHS secretary; and Scott Allen, substitute bus driver. 

* Adjourned the meeting at 7:53 p.m. All board members were present. No executive sessions were needed.