The Northwest R-1 Board of Education recently agreed to spend $433,909.87 on fitness equipment, flooring and wrestling mats for the 15,900-square-foot, two-story addition being built at Northwest High School. The multipurpose addition will house a storm shelter, a weight room and a space for the wrestling program, according to school officials.
All the equipment, flooring and mats, as well as the construction of the addition, are being funded with revenue from a $28 million bond issue voters approved in April 2023.
The school board voted 6-0 Feb. 20 to buy the new equipment, flooring and mats. Board member Retta Tuggle was absent from the meeting.
The district has budgeted $6.8 million to build, equip and furnish the multipurpose addition to the high school in Cedar Hill, including contingency money for items that may come up along the way, said Mark Janiesch, the school district’s chief operating officer.
He said the district does not intend to exceed that amount. Construction of the multipurpose space began in late July of 2024 and is slated to be completed by late July of 2025.
“The multipurpose addition is coming along very well, with only about seven to eight weather days delaying the project,” Janiesch said. “We expect it to be ready for use this coming school year.”
Cardio, weight room equipment
The school board awarded a $256,468.68 contract to Show Me Weights of Fenton for the cardio and weight room fitness equipment. The board chose the lowest of four bids for the equipment, Janiesch said.
The new weight and fitness equipment will replace some of the school’s “very old” and “aging” fitness and weight equipment, with more equipment than what is currently available at the high school being acquired, ensuring that more students can work out at the same time, Janiesch said.
“The equipment has been selected and ordered. We are looking for a June or July installation date, depending on when the flooring goes in,” he said.
Some of the high school’s existing weight equipment will be used in the new addition, and some will be dispersed to other district schools with some still being utilized in the new addition, he said.
Flooring
Also on Feb. 20, the board awarded a $98,810.19 contract to SPEC Athletic in Plainfield, Ill., for rubber and turf flooring to be installed in the Northwest High multipurpose addition. The company submitted the second lowest of three bids for the flooring, but the lowest bid did not meet all the district’s specifications, Janiesch said.
“SPEC Athletic had the best bid; they had a complete bid that met our bid specs,” he said.
Janiesch said the rubber flooring will help protect the flooring beneath it, as well as equipment, from getting scratched up.
Athletic director Kyle Wampler said the turf flooring will go in the weight room.
“Having turf space in a weight room provides numerous benefits by enhancing versatility, safety and efficiency in students’ training,” he said. “It allows for functional exercises, such as sled pushes, agility drills, plyometrics and mobility work, which is not ideal on traditional rubber weight room flooring. Turf offers a safer, more forgiving surface that reduces joint impact during explosive movements, lunges and sprint drills.”
Wampler said the turf flooring will mimic real field conditions, helping students improve their speed, agility and change of direction.
“Incorporating turf also optimizes space usage, allowing for a seamless transition between strength exercises while also serving as an ideal surface for injury prevention and rehabilitation,” Wampler added.
Wrestling mats
A $78,631.00 contract was awarded to Resilite Sports Products, which is headquartered in Northumberland, Pa., to provide the wrestling mats. The company submitted the lowest of two bids.
The new wrestling mats will replace the district’s aging mats and when they are not in use, they will be kept in a storage area on the second floor of the multipurpose addition.
“The mats are approximately 36 weeks out from the order date, so we may not have them in time before school starts. But we can use our existing mats in the meantime,” Janiesch said.
Of the $6.8 million budgeted for the Northwest High addition, $500,000 has been budgeted for furniture, fixtures and equipment to go in the high school multipurpose addition, he said.
“We will not exceed that budgeted number. Included in the FFE number are the rubber and turf flooring, fitness and weight equipment, wrestling mats, office furniture, small furnishings for the floors and walls, audio and visual equipment, small miscellaneous gym equipment and window tinting,” Janiesch said.