The West Aurora School District board has approved roofing improvement projects to be done this summer at West Aurora High School and Freeman Elementary School.
The board recently awarded a contract of $1.8 million to Malcor Roofing of St. Charles for the work. There were nine bidders of record and four bids were received, with Malcor Roofing being the lowest responsive bidder, officials said.
The district’s architectural firm Studio GC Architecture + Interiors of Chicago analyzed the bids and qualifications of the bidders and recommended that the contract for the roofing improvements project be awarded to Malcor Roofing.
Contractors were asked to provide pricing for one alternate which is included in the total bid amount. Malcor provided an alternate to do work on sections of Freeman Elementary worth $165,700. The alternate was recommended and accepted by the board as well.
“This actually came in better than budget so we will be recommending the base bid and alternate,” West Aurora School District Associate Superintendent of Business Angie Smith said.
“On the roof work, at Freeman it is essentially the entire roof. We had a newer portion as an alternate, but since we came in under budget including the alternate we will do that as well,” Smith said.
Malcor Roofing has done considerable roof-related work in the district, she added.
“Even with the alternate we are $200,000 under budget,” Smith said.
The bidding process has become more competitive since the end of Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSER), a federal grant program that provided financial assistance to schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is the first season post-ESSER. When there was so much money being spent, we sometimes saw higher bids than we like,” Smith said.
The high school roof work has been ongoing as needed. The building had additions several times and the related rooftops are of varying ages, Smith said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
