Fox C-6 School District officials have agreed to spend more than $13 million to build additions at Antonia Elementary and Meramec Heights Elementary schools and more than $89,000 to install a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning control system at Meramec Heights.
Those projects will be funded with revenue from the $40 million Proposition P bond issue district voters approved in June 2020.
Board of Education members voted 6-0 July 20 to award a $13,357,000 contract to S.M. Wilson & Co. in St. Louis, which submitted the lowest of four bids to build the additions.
The school board also awarded an $89,162 contract to Automatic Controls Equipment Systems in Fenton, which submitted the lowest bid to install the HVAC control system at Meramec Heights.
Board member Michelle Chamberlain was absent from the meeting.
The two projects are scheduled to start this fall if materials and equipment can be delivered in time. They are expected to be completed by March 31, 2023.
School officials anticipate supply chain delays, particularly for steel and bar joists, according to board documents.
Superintendent Paul Fregeau said the construction work should not affect students’ ability to attend school.
“The work will be external,” Fregeau said. “They have a plan to get kids to and from the buildings away from that.”
Plans call for a 19,000-square-foot addition at Antonia Elementary, 3901 Old Hwy. M, to provide more classroom and library space. S.M. Wilson also will replace the HVAC system in the school’s kindergarten wing and add fencing on the property, board documents show.
A 26,000-square-foot addition is planned for Meramec Heights, 1340 W. Outer 21 Road, northwest of Arnold to allow more space for classrooms, offices and a new cafeteria. In addition, the school’s art and music classrooms will be renovated, additional paving will be added outside the school and an outdoor drinking fountain will be installed.
“It is very clear that both of those buildings need the assistance they are getting that has been provided by voters,” Fregeau said.
The board previously agreed to use some of the bond funds to pay Integrated Facility Services in Fenton $1,188,989 to replace lighting and other HVAC systems at Antonia Elementary and to make improvements in four of its wings, the school’s gym, kitchen and cafeteria. Those improvements are expected to be complete before the school year begins on Aug. 25.
“The ceiling tiles are all in,” Fregeau said on July 26 about the work at Antonia Elementary. “The shelving and cabinets are almost all finished. They were starting to redo the floors when I was in there last week. It is looking very nice.”
Some of the bond funds also will be used to add an instructional wing and complete renovations at Fox High School in Arnold and to add classrooms at Seckman Middle School in Imperial
Prop P funds also will be used to improve security at all school buildings; complete paving projects at all buildings; upgrade playgrounds at elementary schools; upgrade the kitchen equipment and flooring at multiple schools; and replace obsolete electric service and water lines at the Fox and Seckman campuses.
Additional expenditures
Board members also voted 6-0 July 20 to pay All Inclusive Rec of Farmington $120,000 to install a new playground at Guffey Elementary School, 400 13th St., in Fenton.
Most of the project will be paid for with a $90,000 donation Fox received from McBride Homes, and the district will fund the rest of the playground with Prop P funds.
The board decided to award the playground contract to All Inclusive Rec even though Landscape Structures submitted the lowest of three bids at $119,985 because the price difference was just $15 and All Inclusive Rec’s proposal best met the project’s specifications and provided the most activities.
McBride Homes offered to help fund the playground in December 2019 when Fox agreed to alter its district’s map to include a 182-home subdivision called Valley at Winding Bluffs completely inside the Guffey boundary map instead of being split between that school and Meramec Heights.
“Outdoor spaces are just as important as indoor spaces,” Fregeau said. “It had never been more important than during the pandemic to have those outside spaces for kids to utilize.”
Board members also approved paying an additional $8,048 in change orders for the work at Antonia Elementary.