Woodlawn Accepts Budget for Cafeteria Project

WOODLAWN - The Woodlawn School Board approved a “conceptional budget” of a little more than $1.2 million to expand the school cafeteria while giving Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock permission to begin working on plans for a new career education center on the high school campus.Meanwhile, the board also gave Hancock the go-ahead to negotiate on the possible purchase of 33 acres of land across Smith Road next to the elementary school for possible future growth.This and other business was conducted during the Woodlawn School Board’s regular monthly meeting Monday night.Brody Richardson of Brody Richardson Construction of Sheridan, the construction manager for the project, presented the board with a conceptional budget of $1,227,668 to build a nearly 2,800 square foot addition to the cafeteria. The addition  will create more dining space, a second serving line and provide more kitchen space and storage.The board’s approval ends a months-long effort to get the projected cost of the project down to about $1.2 million. Clark Construction, originally hired as the construction manager, initially estimated a budget of more than $2.7 million before reducing it to $2.1 million.The board was dissatisfied with that figure since it was well above what they were expecting, and re-opened its search for a construction manager, eventually  hiring Brody Richardson Construction.Richardson’s first conceptional budget came in at $1.44 million, but the board asked him if he could make some changes to get it closer to the $1.2 million goal. The $1.277 million budget proposed Monday night was that revised effort.Richardson told the board that he had not removed anything from the original plan but instead found some ways to make the construction more efficient, like moving a sink and some light switches around.Now that the board has approved the conceptional budget, Richardson can now seek bids on the construction...