On Thursday night, the Troup County School Board unanimously approved the next steps in the construction of a new gymnasium at LaGrange High School.

The board approved the demolition of vacant houses located at 602, 604, 606 and 608 North Greenwood Street and 124, 125 and 128 Highland Avenue to make room for the new athletic facility. The LaGrange Fire Department will also be conducting a training burn on 602 North Greenwood Street and 124 Highland Avenue.

The winning bid was awarded to AM Construction LLC from Newnan, which bid $41,600. The school board worked in a contingency of $3,400 to make the total approved amount $45,000.

“They will tear down all the houses and clear the sites for us,” said interim superintendent Roy Nichols.

There was some discussion during Monday’s work session about AM Construction’s bid, which was more than $30,000 cheaper than the next bid. 

“They bid $41,000 to move all those houses?” asked board member Joe Franklin. 

Other board members also expressed concern, wanting to clarify that AM Construction knew the scope of the project. 

“I love the price. It’s half of everybody else, but do we know they can actually do it? It’s not even close [to the other bids],” said board chairman Kirk Hancock. 

Assistant Superintendent John Radcliffe said he double checked with the company on their bid and the scope of the project. 

The school board also discussed the following:

• The school board approved the purchase of four school buses from Yancey Bus Sales and Service for a total amount of $475,800. The buses were one exceptional education bus for $103,800 and three 84-passenger buses for $124,000 each. This was the first bus purchases for the county since May. The purchases were paid for through bonds and education SPLOST funds.
•  The board approved the capital outlay project application for fiscal year 2020. The projects listed on the application include replacing the roofs at Troup High School and Long Cane Elementary School, replacing the cooler/freezer at Callaway High School and Gardner Newman Middle School, replacing the dishwasher at Gardner Newman and replacing the physical education building and the cooler/freezer at LaGrange High School. The total cost of the projects is $3,460,534. 
• The board also adopted a proclamation recognizing Oct. 15-19 as National School Lunch Week and Oct. 22-26 as School Bus Safety Week.