RICHWOOD, W.Va. — Nicholas County School Superintendent Donna Burge-Tetrick says she was shocked when the bids were opened for a new Richwood high school and middle school to replace the schools destroyed in the June 2016 flood.
Burge-Tetrick said the lowest bid was $47 million. The estimated cost for the project was $30 million.
Burge-Tetrick told MetroNews she’s been told there are many factors that drove up the bids including inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s escalation due to unprecedented increases in costs, employee shortages, supply chain shortages. We are in unprecedented times,” Burge-Tetrick said Tuesday evening.
The Nicholas County Board of Education rejected the three bids Monday night on a 4-1 vote. The vote was first reported by the Charleston Gazette-Mail Tuesday evening.
Nicholas County received $177.5 million from FEMA following the devastating flood that destroyed Richwood High School and Summersville Middle School. The FEMA award is set to be used for a new Richwood High School/Middle School to be located on the Cherry River Elementary School site in Richwood and new Summersville Middle in a complex with a new Nicholas County High School and county vocational school at Glade Creek Business Park near Summersville.
Burge-Tetrick said architects told the county school board there would not be enough money for all of the projects if the Richwood bid was approved. The next step is scaling back the projects, she said.
“We are having to look at doing a change in the scope of work to reduce both projects for both campuses,” Burge-Tetrick said.
Project architects and construction managers went to work Tuesday on those revisions. Burge-Tetrick said the projects will be scaled back to Policy 6200 measures, which is the state Board of Education guidance on new school construction.
“There’s hope here,” Burge-Tetrick said. “We are definitely going to move forward. We are going to have great schools, great opportunity for our students. We are striving to provide the best facilities we can.”
Burge-Tetrick said it’s the learning that will occur in the new facilities that will be most important.
“We have great students, great teachers, great administrators and very supportive families. We’re going to be fine,” Burge-Tetrick said.
Architects are hopeful the revisions can be done in two months. Burge-Tetrick said plans are to rebid as quickly as possible after the revisions are completed.
“I’m also asking them to make alternates to the projects that if bids come in low enough we are able to add some of the things we are removing to try and meet budget,” Burge-Tetrick said.
The state School Building Authority has been warning of rising construction costs for months. The authority met in special session last month to discuss funding options.
“We’ve got a lot of needs and very little ability to award those projects. Our finances are weak and we’re trying to increase that with whatever we can and with what we have right now,” SBA Executive Director David Roach told MetroNews.
Roach said at that meeting the cost to build a new school is way more than it used to be.
“If you had $60 million in 1990, it would require $255 million (now) to be equal to that $60 million,” he said. “It’s no wonder they could do a lot more back then compared to what we can do now. When there’s bonds that counties wanting to pass and there’s needs, we just can’t meet them.”
Burge-Tetrick said Tuesday the high bids were another blow to her county that’s still trying to bounce back from the 2016 flood but she said she remained hopeful.
“It’s just frustrating that our project will be delayed somewhat because of the revisions and the changes in scope of work but we’re going to make it,” she said.