The Sioux City Community School District Board of Directors voted June 9 to reject all bids for a combined West and North high school pool repair project and to rebid the work at a later date, citing bids that materially exceeded the architect's budget estimate.

JEO Architects had provided a budget estimate of $510,000 for the combined project. Bids returned at roughly $719,000, about $200,000 above the estimate. The board voted 5-1 to reject the bids and rebid the project.

District facilities manager Tim Paul said the bid for the North High work in particular was well above the estimate: "North High alone... came in at $435,890," he said, while the architect's estimate for North had been about $289,000. Paul told the board that the district and JEO felt the heavy summer construction season and constrained subcontractor availability likely pushed prices higher and recommended waiting for a less busy season.

Board action and rationale

- Motion: Reject all bids dated May 13, 2025 and rebid the project at a later date as recommended by JEO Architects.
- Vote: Passed 5-1. Directors approved the recommendation, allowing the district to pause the project and rebid in a later procurement window that could yield more competitive pricing.

Operational implications

Tim Paul said work would still require taking one pool offline while the other remained available; that plan would not change whether bids were accepted this summer or later. The district aims to time any future construction to avoid the peak contractor season and pursue better pricing.

Why the board acted

Board members said the bids were substantially above budget. Directors noted the practical challenge of summer contracting when plumbers, electricians and other trades are busy. Rejecting the bids preserves the district's option to seek more competitive proposals during a different season instead of committing to a higher cost now.

Next steps

The district will instruct its architect to rebid the pool repairs in a later procurement window, with the intention of securing more competitive subcontractor bids. The board did not commit additional funding at this meeting.

Ending note

The board's rejection of bids pauses the planned upgrades until the district can seek lower-cost proposals, while sustaining the district's stated priority of maintaining usable pool access for school programs and community users when feasible.