NORFOLK, Neb. -- The Norfolk Public Schools board of education approved two bids to bring additions to Norfolk Junior High and Bel Air Elementary School.

The decision was made during Monday's board of education meeting, with the bid for the junior high additions and remodeling going to Otte Construction for $4,374,600, and the Bel Air bid going to Huff Construction for $4,820,000.

During the meeting, Dr. William Robinson explained that the junior high additions will renovate facilities at the building like bathrooms, plumbing, and install a new staff parking lot on the north side of the building. Meanwhile, he says the Bel Air additions and renovations will be a more straightforward process with not a lot of renovation taking place on the original building.

Another bid that would add additional classrooms to Bel Air elementary school, was rejected during the meeting. Dr. Robinson said he wasn't in favor of the $1,800,000 bid, as the need for the additional classrooms isn't there, he said. Robinson noted that he felt the money could be better spent elsewhere.

"Dr. Thompson and I sat down and really looked at enrollment trends, where they were pre-pandemic, where they're going now," he explained. "We just really didn't see how we could justify, even with this pricing, bringing that forward where potentially you could have that whole wing possible be empty for 5, 6, even 7 years. I just don't know if that is what is right when we have other things we could put in front of it." 

The first two bids were both approved in a unanimous 5-0 vote, while the motion to dismiss the bid for classroom additions was unanimously turned down.