(The Center Square) – The Caddo Parish School Board approved a number of major construction and renovation projects at its meeting this week aimed at upgrading heating, ventilation, air conditioning and auditorium systems in schools across the district.
The board reviewed bids at its last meeting Tuesday and awarded contracts that were mostly under budget and funded through bonds and capital projects funds.
One of the approved projects is the air conditioning upgrade at North Highlands Elementary, awarded to The Payne Company for $431,500. This total includes the base bid and three alternative offers, all within the project budget of $500,000. Another significant award went to The Payne Company for Phase 2 of the HVAC system at Caddo Middle Magnet with a bid of $462,900. This project was also well under its budget of $1 million.
At Huntington High School, Phase 1 of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning project was awarded to Reliance Mechanical, whose bid of $749,500 easily fit within the $1.25 million allocated for the work. Meanwhile, Thrash Construction Services was hired to renovate the auditorium at Keithville Elementary/Middle School and Captain Shreve High School.
The Keithville project was approved for $394,900, while the Captain Shreve renovation was awarded $395,000. Both projects were under their respective budgets of $500,000 and are being funded through capital project funds.
Two additional climate control upgrades rounded out the approved offers. Payne Company will complete the Southern Hills Elementary HVAC project with a bid of $724,800, including the base bid and an alternative bid, staying under budget at $1.25 million.
The Caddo Magnet High School HVAC Phase 2 project was awarded to Hamm Mechanical for $1,092,000. Although slightly over budget at $1 million, the project will be covered by bond funds.
Each project was subject to Louisiana's public bidding law, which requires bidding for all capital projects over $250,000. Bids were awarded to the least responsive contractors within the required 45-day window.