The Lakeland school board took two giant steps toward making its new middle school a reality on May 26.
In a special-called meeting, the Lakeland School System (LSS) board authorized the executive committee to enter into a construction agreement with Chris Woods Construction Co. for the construction of Lakeland Middle Preparatory School (Lakeland Prep).
The amount is $11,740,100 with a contingency amount of $585,000 for items that may arise outside the construction documents. Superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell said these amounts are within the capital budget the board has approved.
Board members also approved a construction agreement with Pro-Site LLC for Phase Two of the Lakeland Prep Site Development Project (completion of the site work). The amount is $600,580 with a contingency amount of $30,000.
The board also heard congratulations from Dr. James B. Mitchell Jr., a founding partner at Southern Educational Strategies, the consulting firm that LSS is using.
“This is an historic date for the Lakeland School System, one that you’ve been planning carefully for from the very beginning,” Mitchell said.
He continued, “I commend you for that. You approached this task in the right way — careful, diligent, preparation, planning. Your superintendent has worked extremely hard along with our team … to make sure that it would come in within your budget.”
The district plans to open the newly completed school for students in August 2018.
In other news, wet weather delayed the school’s groundbreaking, originally scheduled for May 26. Watch the school district’s website at lakelandk12.org for updates on a rescheduled groundbreaking ceremony.
