Middle school bids move forward

With funding issues now resolved, work on the county’s newest middle school can move forward into the construction phase.

The Orange County Board of Education, after receiving funds from the county to cover budget over-runs, unanimously approved bids for construction at its Monday night meeting.

The middle school, which will be the third in the Orange County School district, is situated on a 100-acre site in Efland that is co-located with a soccer complex.

The district broke ground on the school Nov. 30.

Rising costs in materials caused the price of the school’s construction to increase more than $3 million over original estimates.

Before the school board could address the bids Monday, it had to wait on approval from the Orange County Board of Commissioners for the additional funding.

George McFarley, director of auxiliary services for county schools, reported back to the school board after attending the commissioners’ meeting.

He said the commissioners discussed the budget situation for more than half an hour before unanimously approving the funding to cover the shortage — about $3.5 million — for the third middle school.

Commissioners referred to the money they will use to cover the budget over-runs as an additional funding source, McFarley said.

Superintendent Shirley Carraway said she thought the commissioners would be as accommodating in responding to increasing budget demands for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ third high school.

“I’m assuming that they’ll do that for the additional overage that they need for high school number three,” she said.

Before approving the bids, board Chairwoman Libbie Hough thanked McFarley and his associates for the effort they made in securing the additional funds.

“I really appreciate the work that you did,” she said.

The bids approved by the board are for four contractors: J.H. Allen Inc., Indicor, Starr Electric Co. Inc. and ABL and Associates Plumbing LLC.

Each approved contractor will cover a different aspect of construction such as electrical or plumbing.

The bidding process began Dec. 7, and according to a letter to the superintendent, bids were reviewed and approved in discussions Dec. 14.

With the overage funded and the bids approved, the construction phase of the new middle school might soon begin.

“We’re looking to begin mid-February,” McFarley said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.