School board approves HVAC bid for Mary Lynch

The Kimball Board of Education approved a bid for the new HVAC system at Mary Lynch Elementary School during its regularly scheduled meeting held Monday.

After considering five bids from area providers, the board approved a $94,000 bid from Best Plumbing & Heating of Sidney.

“All five of them were reasonable and we had one that was surprisingly low, so we interviewed that contractor,” said Ben Schmitt of Specialized Engineering Solutions in Omaha, who the board hired to assist with the process.

Best underbid its competition by a significant margin, so Schmitt did some additional checking prior to Monday’s meeting.

“He (Vaughn Russell at Best) didn’t have everything ironed out completely, which you wouldn’t expect at this phase of a project,” Schmitt said. “So we feel pretty good about it and I have talked with (Superintendent) Marshall (Lewis) about it, and at this point we don’t have any reasoning to stray to the next lowest bid, a ballpark of $30,000 more.”

Bids were given as well for labor only with the district providing equipment, which was bid out separately.

It was decided that the winning bidder will also cover the equipment as opposed to just providing labor for privately purchased equipment.

Lewis said that with the contractor covering the equipment, there is an added layer of protection for the district and that to be considered, contractors must have a 5 percent bond.

Though changes made or problems found during the installation of the system could affect the final cost, Schmitt is confident that most contingencies have been considered.

“If something is identified after a contract is given, you are at the mercy of not getting competitive pricing,” Schmitt said. “We were pretty aggressive with communicating with all five the contractors that bid the project during the bid phase. We asked them for any recommendations or changes that they may foresee. We issued three addenda during the bid phase and got it changed. At this point I don’t know of anything that would need a change order.”

Schmitt assured the board that while they will try to avoid excessive costs altogether, that if an additional need is identified they would work to get the best pricing possible for the district.

The cabinet report in front of the board this month came from Travis Terrill, the district’s technology coordinator. Terrill reported that summer projects for his department include transferring data from the old server to the new one, which was purchased this past school year.

“Then the plan is to refurbish the older server as a back-up device for that data that is being moved,” Terrill said.

Terrill also reported on the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) conference he attended in Omaha last month, where he said most of the sessions he attended were directed towards classroom technology.

“It would be interesting to get some more of our staff there in future years because there is a lot of information presented,” Terrill added.

He is also assisting the blended learning committee in integrating technology into the classroom as part of the technology committee.

“I’m getting information in as to what teachers are looking for as ways to integrate technology into the classroom,” Terrill said. “What we are trying to do is not to focus on a device specifically, but more of a use. What they want to be able to use as far as technology.”

Terrill said he is considering how teachers would use technology in the classroom to access resources, as well as test students through accelerated reader. This could include NWA testing or NESA testing in the classroom.

Terrill reviewed the “School Dude” information regarding the technology repair tickets and explained to the board how the program has worked for the department.

Board member Jared Hunsaker asked Terrill how the program is working for the technology department. Terrill said that the program is useful, but it can be used to track more information in the future and added that the department has seen a mix of requests for hardware and software as well as maintenance.

The board also:

- approved a new contract for school nurse Lindsey (Keeler) Maase.

- approved summer activity camps.

- approved the capital project plan.

- tabled the review of policy 603.6 regarding graduation requirements.