Salina Journal reports that Bids for the three smallest projects among the Salina School District’s current expansions and renovations ended up nearly three times what was expected. Tuesday night, Salina School Board members voted to reject the bid of $683,931 from Ponton Construction, of Salina, for renovations at the Salina Adult Education Center, the Central Kansas Cooperative in Education and Opportunity Now. The district had previously estimated the cost of the three projects at $233,750. Kris Upson, the district’s director of bond projects, recommended rejecting Ponton’s bid, which was the only bid submitted for the three projects. Upson said the district had several options available, including rebidding the projects later and reducing the size of the projects. The projects included building a controlled entrance at CKCIE; building a multi-purpose room that could be used as a storm shelter and classroom at Opportunity Now, and building a multi-purpose classroom/storm shelter at the adult education center.
