Some Lawrence school board members voiced excitement Monday ahead of their vote to approve bids totaling about $4.16 million to prepare the former Centennial Elementary School building to serve as a new flexible high school option.

Choice Campus at Centennial, 2145 Louisiana St., will open in August with one main goal: getting Lawrence high schoolers to graduate, one way or another, Lawrence school district Superintendent Jeanice Swift has said. The program will be available to students looking for an adaptable learning environment. (Read more in this article from January.)

Ahead of the vote, board member Matt Lancaster said he wanted to express his enthusiasm for the Choice Campus project, even in its early stages. He said alternative programs are often attached to a stigma, but they are not solely for credit recovery.

“There are students in all sections of the academic spectrum that require something outside of the traditional bounds of our K-12 school system, and you would be just amazed at what kind of successes that they can find,” he said.

Board member Yolanda Franklin said she was excited about the potential to help children who would do better in a smaller setting, and that her granddaughter has “expressed a big, big enthusiasm about being able to get to attend there for her junior year.”

Board members had three items to consider on their consent agenda for Monday’s meeting — a list of items that are generally considered routine and are approved with one motion, unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull something for discussion — related to the work at Centennial:

• A maximum authorization of about $3.5 million to Centric Projects LLC, for work including “interior renovations consisting of interior finish improvements, door replacements, interior wall reconfiguration, and fire separation upgrades,” according to the agenda.

“The scope of work includes, but is not limited to, selective demolition; general construction; and associated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection work required to support the planned renovations. Exterior improvements include construction of a new enclosed vestibule, a new canopy addition, and installation of sun-shading devices.” It was the lowest bid the district received for the work.

• An estimated $625,828 bid from Meridian Roofing Solutions to replace the roof. It was also the lowest bid the district received.

• A bid of $28,170 for Norton and Schmidt Consulting Engineers LLC for construction administrative services.

The board did not pull the three bids from the consent agenda for discussion, but some members spoke about it during board commentary.

The board previously approved a $211,200 proposal from ACI Boland Architects for planning and development of the campus.

Funds for the construction will all come from capital outlay funds, which can’t be used for salaries.

The district closed Centennial to elementary students in May 2003. The building housed Lawrence Virtual School at one point in the aftermath; since then, it’s partly been a practice site with batting cages for the Lawrence High School baseball program as well as other athletics.

More from this meeting:
Superintendent: Lawrence schools plan welcome center, seek to boost staff pay and more updates (click here to read)

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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