The Board of Education on November 7, 2022, approved a competitive bid from Combes Construction to build an addition to Mize Elementary to accommodate a special education center-based program. The district will pay for the addition with remaining dollars from the 2018 bond issue.

What is the project?

Mize is home to one of three elementary center-based programs designed to provide specialized services for students with high needs from across the school district. Because of the unique needs of students, the staffing ratio is typically smaller, staff have specialized training, and the setting offers specialized equipment and spaces.

For many years, Mize Elementary utilized regular classrooms to support its center-based program. Adding a new, specially designed space to the existing facility will allow Mize to reclaim classrooms for general education students and accommodate future enrollment growth.

Timeline & Rendering

In June 2022, the Board of Education directed the administration to proceed with the design phase for the Mize addition. Several meetings with staff took place during the process which assisted architects as to the needs of the space. After all design meetings were completed, specifications were written and a legal advertisement was published. A mandatory pre-bid meeting took place on October 13, 2022, with 12 contractors present. The district received sealed bids from seven companies on October 27. The Board awarded the project to Combes Construction on November 7, in the amount of $2,121,000.

Construction on the new addition could begin in February 2023 and may take eight to ten months to complete.