Hurley school board approves science lab bid

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

Hurley — The Hurley School Board selected the general contractor to build its new science lab over the summer during a special meeting on Monday.

The school board 4-0 selected Nasi Construction, LLC, of Hurley, as the low bid for the proposal to convert two computer lab rooms (418-A and 418-B) into the Art Science Discovery Lab. School board clerk Kathy Levra was not part of the meeting after declaring a conflict of interest with the bidding process.

The Nasi Construction bid was $153,500, according to school district administrator Kevin Genisot. The second bid considered was from Angelo Luppino, Inc., of Hurley, at $186,477.

Both bids were to perform the same scope of work for the project, he said.

“We’re just really excited about getting this project started,” said Leslie Kolesar, school board president. “We are going to have a state of the art science lab for K-12.”

The project estimate ranges between $150,000 to $200,000, according to previous school board information. The fundraising effort started with $50,000 from an Enbridge, Inc. community investment program grant to the Hurley Education Foundation.

The project would not have been possible without the help of Enbridge and the education foundation, Kolesar said.

The project is expected to start on Monday, June 7, according to Genisot. The goal is to have the work completed by Aug. 15, he said.

“We’re still on schedule,” Genisot said. “We’re full steam ahead.”

The Hurley K-12 School science teachers presented an initial plan to the school board in late 2020. Although supportive, the school board sought a more detailed plan with input from engineering and architectural firms.

In April the school board approved the science lab design recommendation from Tekton Forensics, LLC. The board approved the Tekton recommendation to raise the ceilings in the lab and use solar tube natural lighting with integrated LED secondary lighting to replace the traditional fluorescent lighting.

The goal for the lab is to create a space for all K-12 teachers to bring their students to conduct the science lab portion of learning after completing the classroom learning portion, according to previous comments from Dan Rye, middle school science teacher. The space is a way to immerse students in a scientific environment to help inspire inquiry and investigation, he said.

The lab will be an open, accessible design with the interior visible to the hallway through glass walls, he said. One side of the lab will be dedicated to the general sciences such as biology and physics, and the other side toward the computer sciences, such as coding and robotics.

A science lab of this scope will need to be built in stages, Genisot said.

The first phase construction this summer will provide for the initial goals with room to grow and expand when funding and new goals are identified.

“It’s going to be exciting to build it big enough to add on to it in the future,” Genisot said. “With any future donations from people we will have the room to do that as well.”