The Wright City R-II School District is considering grouping six alternate bids in with the main bid package for construction of a new high school.

R-II school district voters earlier this month approved both Proposition 1967 and Proposition 2025 funding measures for the project. Proposition 1967 allows the district to issue $37 million in bond debt, with no tax increase to voters. Proposition 2025 will generate $15 million in additional loan funding, again with no tax increase.

Funding from both ballot issues would go toward construction of a new Wright City High School between Roelker Road and Highway F. It would also go towards renovation of the old high school as an administrative building, renovation of the old administrative building as a second preschool location and a four-room addition to East Elementary.

At last week’s board meeting, Art Bond of Bond Architects said the district has discussed seven alternate bids for the project. Alternate bids are bid separately from the rest of the bid package. With the success of the bond issue, the district has the ability to include six of the seven alternates in the main bid package, Bond said.

“With the exception of alternate number four, which is the performing arts auditorium, we think it makes sense to roll the other six alternates into the baseline of the project,” Bond said. “Because what that will give you is a more substantial view of the athletics (complex). It will dial in potentially the performance gymnasium. Additional locker rooms. And a lot of the field amenities that we've discussed, which we had sidelined not knowing how things were going to go in the election and then further in the pricing as we go.”

Bond believes bidding the six alternates as part of the main package will potentially help the district see additional savings. For example, Bond said bidding the athletic stadium as one package, rather than separating different pieces into alternates, will save the district $200,000.

School District Superintendent Chris Berger stressed that the school board can reject project bids if they come in over budget. It is on the district and those involved with the project to make sure the cost estimates are good before seeking the bids on the project, he stressed.

“If, for some reason, things got away from us, you’re not obligated to accept,” Berger said. “We may have to go back to the drawing board at that point. And the negative to that is delay. But I don’t want you to think if we go this route, we’re committed to it, that the board’s going to have to hold their nose and take it. Absolutely not.”

Bond also suggested the district consider adjusting the budget for the conversion of the administration building. He advised increasing the money planned for the building from $350,000 to around $1 million.

“I think we’ve got the dollars to do it,” Bond said. “We’ll go through every detail. But we were thinking we might not have enough money to do Jack and Jill restrooms all the way through. And that we might have to make this a slightly older early childhood center so that we can use what we have here. Now going forward, I think as we adjust things, you may be able to have the flexibility to do this building for all ages.”

With the proposed adjustments and the six alternates worked in, the projected cost for the construction projects is around $53 million, Bond said.

Board vice president Alice Jensen believes the proposal “clearly chooses sports over performing arts.” She asked if the old high school has an auditorium that can function well.

Bond confirmed it can. He added that architects have discussed making the new high school’s cafeteria more acoustically sound so they can use it as a performing arts venue. They are considering either a portable stage or building a stage into the cafeteria itself, Bond said. The goal would be to buy the district time until they have the funds to build a new auditorium, he explained.

Berger stressed the new auditorium will remain in the master plan.

“That doesn’t mean the performing arts goes out of the master plan,” Berger said. “The full blown performing arts auditorium stays in the master plan. But … what can we get in the interim? What can we get in the seven, nine years?”

No formal action on the project was taken at last week’s meeting.