SOCSD Board to open Partnership School bids

A major step will be made toward a notable project today when bids for the Partnership School are opened at 2 p.m. today at the Greensboro Center.

The bids will be for the construction of the school following the completion of dirt work at the site this month. In a report at the last Starkville– Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees meeting, Partnership School architect Bruce Wood told the board costs for the school would likely increase by approximately $2 million due to increases in building supply and labor costs

in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

After the meeting, School Board President Keith Coble said he wasn’t overly concerned with the increased cost, due to the district being in good financial shape. Coble said the district would look into various sources of funding to make up for the shortfall.

“We’re very interested to find out what they will be, and we’ll evaluate the bids when

we see them,” Coble said.

Current contributions to the project include $12.5 million from the district, $10 million from the state of Mississippi and $5 million from Mississippi State University. The school will be located near the north entrance of the MSU campus, across from the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park. Once complete, it will serve all sixth and seventh graders in the district and act as a lab for the MSU College of Education.