Washington school board accepts bids for Lincoln HVAC project

The Washington school district is moving ahead with a complete heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system replacement this summer.

At a special April 27 meeting, the school board voted to accept bids for the project totaling more than $2.7 million.

“The bids came in a little higher than expected,” Superintendent Willie Stone said.

The estimated cost for the project was $3.8 million, with an additional $300,000 for the renovation of bathrooms in the old part of Washington High School — the former middle school

The board had already authorized spending nearly $630,000 on new Trane HVAC equipment as part of the project.

“By purchasing direct and approving this purchase now, we will be able to place the equipment order prior to the bids for the Lincoln geothermal project being awarded,” Stone said at the time of the purchase. “This will allow the equipment to ship early enough in the summer for us to complete most of the project before school starts this fall.”

He added that the project engineers agreed that the purchase falls within the project’s budget.

To get the bid totals into budget range, Stone recommended eliminating the bathroom renovations. That bid came in at $358,000.

He also recommended omitting the replacement of the rooftop air unit that serves the gym, as well as other adjustments, reducing the cost of the project another $466,000.

“We’re working with the bidders on some change orders,” Stone said.

The school currently has a single boiler system, which Stone said is already three or four years past its expected life.

Each room has single unit air conditioners with no buildingwide ventilation system.

The plan calls for switching to an energy-efficient geothermal system.

“With COVID, we thought it was wise to move to an air-handling system,” Stone said.