By Sherri Blevins
Ider High School’s long-awaited wish for a new gymnasium is one step closer to becoming a reality. On October 14, during a special called DeKalb County Board of Education meeting, the Board accepted the low bid from P & C Construction of $7.67 million to complete the new gym.
The construction of the Ider gymnasium will complete the cycle of new gyms throughout the county. Collinsville’s gym is undergoing construction presently, and with the addition of Ider, every DeKalb County school will have a modern facility for basketball.
The only downside to the story is the new construction will temporarily affect the school’s softball program. The new gym will be sitting on the current location of the softball field. A new field will be built to accommodate the softball program, but the team will be inconvenienced during the transition period. Superintendent Lyles said the system would make every effort to ensure the team gets a few games on the field in the spring and host its senior night before construction takes over. The City of Ider has agreed to help find alternate fields during the construction process.
Zach Ward with Ward Scott Architecture explained why the $7.67 million price tag for the construction was about $2 million more than the gym construction at Collinsville. Ward said the site preparation at Ider would be more costly and more involved, and since the beginning of the Collinsville project, there has been a 17% increase in building costs. He added that the bid had approximately $700,000.00 included to cover unexpected costs that will be returned to the Board if it is not used.
All the Board members expressed their excitement to see the start of the final gymnasium project for DeKalb County Schools.
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