The Houston County Board of Education approved a bid package on Monday for work on schools in Ashford and Cottonwood, pending verification of a local bid rule.
The project includes classroom additions, renovations and other work at Ashford High School, Cottonwood High School and Ashford Elementary School. The bid package the board approved was for the lowest bids on contracts for project work.
However, there is a question concerning whether the board can apply a rule that would allow it to award the contracts to local firms that come within 3 percent of the lowest bid. The board is consulting with the state and its attorney to determine if the rule is applicable. If so, the board may come back and award work to local firms that fall within the 3 percent rule.
Houston County School Superintendent Tim Pitchford said the question concerns whether the 3 percent rule applies to labor or only materials.
The current bid package is $500,000 below the originally estimated price of the project. On Monday night, the board also voted to rehire three teachers recently pink-slipped because of position cuts. The board recently eliminated 15 positions because of state funding cuts, the first time the Houston County Schools have had to eliminate positions during the three-year proration crisis Alabama schools have faced.
Pitchford said having to terminate single parents and sole breadwinners was “gut-wrenching.” He hopes to rehire as many as possible as other positions are vacated.
The board also heard a proposal from Bill Brown of Overcomers in Christ. Brown wants to use the abandoned Harmon School as a residential facility for his program, which provides services for homeless men and men who have recently been released from jail or who have substance abuse problems. Brown said the relatively isolated location of the school makes it ideal, as it will keep his charges away from the influences that have gotten them into trouble in the past.
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