photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school district offices building, located at 110 McDonald Dr., is pictured in May 2025.

Lawrence school board members will consider a construction bid for a remodeling project for Free State High School’s outdoor athletic field press box on Monday.

Board members will consider the bid from Mammoth Sports Construction LLC in the amount of $390,500 with a 10% contingency fund up to $39,050, resulting in a total project cost of $429,550. The costs will be paid from the facilities and operations capital outlay funds.

During the board’s Oct. 23, 2023, meeting, board members approved engineering and architectural services with Norton & Schmidt Consulting Engineers. An invitation for bids on construction services was initially released on Sep. 8, 2025 and the district received two bids on Oct. 1, 2025. Both bids were substantially higher than the projected costs, so the district accepted neither bid and reissued the bidding process on Jan. 12, 2026.

There were no new business or reports scheduled for Monday’s meeting. All of the items board members will consider are included on the consent agenda, where all items are approved in one motion.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, BOARD MEMBERS WILL:

• Consider accepting a bid for updates to the middle school theaters in the district from BHS Construction Inc in the amount of $522,100 along with a 10% contingency, not to exceed $52,210.

As the Journal-World reported, in September 2024, district staff highlighted the findings of a study of the performing arts centers in the district’s secondary schools, which identified many safety concerns at the middle schools. The purpose of the study was to identify areas of safety concern, areas of inequity between the facilities and to provide recommendations for improvement.

• Consider purchasing playground equipment for two preschool classrooms at Deerfield and Prairie Park Elementary Schools, where the district will begin offering preschool education in fall 2026. The equipment and installation services will come from Aspire 2 Play LLC in the amount of $103,967, with a 10% contingency of $10,396, for a total project cost not to exceed $114,363.

• Consider authorizing district staff to enter into a settlement regarding a mediation claim with a $50,000 deductible to be paid from contingency funds.

• Hold two executive sessions for the purpose of discussing potential litigation with legal counsel and discussing contract negotiations with no action to follow either session.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Public comment will not be included on Monday’s agenda, but people can share written comments with the board via email at schoolboard@usd497.org. The meeting will also be available via the school district’s YouTube channel.