Polk County School Board members on Dec. 9 voted to approve a guaranteed maximum price of $5,636,001.26 for the building portion of a Junior Achievement (JA) Discovery Center at Tenorock High School.

Board member Keyes moved to approve the contract and board member Wyatt seconded the motion. During discussion, board member Miller publicly recused himself from the vote, saying, "I just wanna make it public that I am recusing myself from this vote due to my relationship with junior achievement." The chair then called the vote and the motion carried with the recusal noted.

Supporters described the project as a regional educational asset. Board member Allen said the center would complement the district’s Cambridge and 3DE programs and called it "an incredible opportunity for all of Polk County students to take part in that." Board member Keyes and others emphasized that the facility should reduce travel for students who previously had to go out of county to access similar programs.

The item was listed on the action agenda as U1, titled "BizTown, JA Discovery Center at Tenorock High School," and identified the suggested action as approving Bridal Construction’s guaranteed maximum price for the building portion of the project in the amount of $5,636,001.26. The board approved the item during the meeting’s action agenda after brief discussion and the recorded recusal.

Next steps identified by staff include final contract execution and project implementation tasks; no additional conditions or amendments were recorded in the board action taken that evening.