The Lincoln County Board of Education accepted the low bid of $5,048,186, submitted by Garnto and Gearig Brothers Construction, LLC, for site improvements for the new high school that will be built off of Metasville Road.

The action was taken at the regular meeting of the board held Tuesday, August 5.

The bid includes an add alternate of $381,500 to show the cost of the construction of an access road to the school. This amount is not part of the base bid.

There is also a second add alternate of $35,741, so that electrical conduits can be installed in the event that Garnto and Gearig are ready to pave before the builder gets there.

"If the conduits haven't been installed when the builder arrives, the money will be credited to the board of education, and the builder's electricians will be responsible for the work," stated George McDavid, site engineer and principle manager of OneSource Development, LLC.

The rationale behind the second add alternate is to prevent the builder from having to tear up pavement to install the conduits.

McDavid anticipates that the first phase of the site work will be completed by the middle of December.

In general comments, the engineer noted that although the price of materials is still on the rise, contractors are lowering their profit margins to keep their businesses going. "It's a good time to be building," he said.

In her comments on the financial aspects of the project, Kaye Bufford, system comptroller, said, "We have a total of $31,450,271 available in capital outlay funds from the state and bond revenues, supported by SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) and property taxes. The site work will leave us with a balance of $25,984,844."

The figure does not include $500,000 in "old" SPLOST revenues earmarked for the construction of athletic fields, the purchase of storage buildings, etc.

The comptroller went on to explain that 11.28 percent of the budget for the new school has been set aside for contingencies and furnishings.

In other items of information, Bufford charted the cost of building the school at $120 per square foot, $125/square foot, and $130/square foot. Her calculations appear below:

.. $120/square foot: $24,292,160. .. $125/square foot: $25,304,333.

.. $130/square foot: $26,316,506.

The new school will feature three major wings, with a major hallway running left to right. The plans also include one central entrance, two minor entrances into the gymnasium and auditorium, and one entrance at the back of the central wing, which leads to the cafeteria.

In addition to regular classrooms, the gym, and the auditorium, the building will also house an art room, complete with pottery and kiln rooms; an auto teach area; a band room that will seat 98 and contains three practice rooms and an exterior door for loading purposes.

A 48-seat choral music classroom; a 3,488-square-foot construction lab, with a roll-up door and a fenced-in outdoor storage area; a greenhouse; a professional foods lab, which is equipped with a dining area, a kitchen, a classroom, an office, and storage space.

A general technology room, with television control and production booths and a production lab; a health occupations lab, with an office, a kitchen, a mock doctor's office, and a medical lab; and an 8,246-squarefoot cafeteria, which seats 419 and features a small platform, a dressing area, and storage space.

Construction on the 154,381- square-foot facility should reach completion in time for the 2010 school year.

In other business, the board:

.. Voted to accept the low bid from Graves Engineering Services, Inc. of Martinez to provide geo-technical services (soil, concrete, and asphalt testing) in conjunction with the construction of the new school.

.. Reviewed the financial reports for the Construction Fund through July 31, 2008; the SPLOST Fund through July 31, 2008; the General Fund from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; the General Fund from July 1, 2008, through July 31, 2008; and Quarterly School Funds for the period from April 1, 2008, through June 30, 2008.

As for the new SPLOST, School Superintendent Randall Edmunds said, "We received about $73,198 in this collection compared to $75,700 last July. We're hoping SPLOST will hold its own throughout the coming months."

In his comments on the General Fund, the superintendent said the system recently purchased a new bus and paid the lease payments on two other buses.

In related remarks, Dr. Edmunds