Greensburg Salem to move forward with contractor on part of outdoor classroom project

The Greensburg Salem school board will vote next week on whether to move forward with a new contractor for the pavilion portion of its delayed outdoor classroom project, after having rejected previous bids for being too expensive.

The district plans to go with contractor RJT Contracting for the labor and materials to build the pavilion, for a total of about $37,500. The new contract was obtained through the state COSTARS cooperative buying program.

The board threw out three bids received last fall for the outdoor classroom project after they came in well above costs projected by the district’s facilities consultant, Civil & Environmental Consultants.

The district has received about $140,000 in grants for the project and is continuing to seek additional funding, but the lowest bid in the fall was more than $230,000.

Now, the district is looking at breaking down the project into pieces, Superintendent Ken Bissell said.

“At that time, that was the entire project,” he said. “We are looking for ways to split it into multiple projects.”

The other portions of the project would include renovating a nearby pond and redoing landscaping, Bissel said. The district still has a number of drawings and designs from Civil & Environmental Consultants that can be used.

Construction on all parts of the outdoor classroom is set to be paid for by the grant funds, and supported with donations, Bissell added.

He hopes to see construction on the pavilion begin in the spring, and expects students will be able to use it in the fall at the latest.