FLORENCE — The Florence school board Friday approved three bids to sub contractors for work on the sixth-floor office complex in the Florence-Lauderdale Government Building.

The three projects total $367,748.

They include $185,000 to Pettus Mechanical Services; $70,748 to King and Associates General Contractors Inc. for millwork and $112,000 to Hearn Plumbing Co. for Tim Rhodes Electric Co. Inc.

Superintendent Janet Womack said the project is expected to be complete in January. The new space will house all Florence schools central office personnel.
The relocation of those offices will free space at current offices in the Richards Center for the system’s technology department, education foundation and allow for system-wide training, Womack said.

Bids were initially invited on the entire project, but the four companies that submitted bids were higher than the amount the system had budgeted for the project, according to Assistant Superintendent/Chief Schools Financial Officer Connie Roberts.

She said the system’s budget for the project is between $500,000-$600,000.

“We’re certainly trying to keep it under $600,000,” Roberts said.

She said she cleared the project with state legal officials regarding bid laws.

“We saw that it was going to be more cost efficient for the system to break up the contract into different pieces, which is allowable by law,” Roberts said. “Overseeing it ourselves is the most cost effective approach.”

She said she will seek quotes from three vendors in each remaining area of construction on the project.

Roberts said the school system officials saw that it was more financially feasible to oversee the project themselves.

There will be a construction (site) supervisor who is a licensed general contractor overseeing construction, Roberts said.

The demolition phase of the project is complete. Womack said that cost was about $30,000 and did not require bids.

In other business Friday, the board approved resignations from Ben Fisher, junior varsity head soccer coach; Shirley Douglass-Rowell, Florence Middle School girls basketball coach; and Mike McCabe, special education teaching assistant at Florence Middle School.

The board employed Neale Morgan as temporary social studies teacher at Florence High School, effective Jan. 2.

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 256-740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.