The Mahomet-Seymour School board rejected bids to renovate the Mahomet-Seymour Junior High mat room into five spaces, two classrooms and two offices. To remedy the need for space, the board voted to approve portal classrooms from Vesta for $65,622 with set up costs from $83,500, plus IT and furniture costs.
The district had budgeted $200,000 for the renovation of the mat room. Three bids were received at the amount of $398,939, $329,500 and $313,420 for the base bid and $33,500, $26,120 and $31,400 for the alternate bid (air conditioning).
The other issue with the bids is that contractors noted they needed 19 weeks to finish.
The district could use the mat room at the junior high for one classroom without renovation.
The agreement for the portable classroom space is three years, although the district could add language for adjustments. Mahomet-Seymour Junior High Principal Nathan Mills said a math class and a newly added Ag Class will be located in the portable building for the 2022-23 school year.
Board members voiced concern over the portable classrooms, asking if the mat room or other gymnasium space could be divided for classrooms as needed. Mills said with ceiling height and acoustics, it would not be conducive to learning.
