Tempe, Ariz. — The Tempe Elementary School District governing board voted Dec. 3 to approve Guaranteed Maximum Price No. 2 for the Connolly Middle School and Curry Elementary rebuild projects after hearing design details and an extended question-and-answer period with DLR Group and CORE Construction.

CORE’s team described recent activity on the sites and summarized costs. Project director Brian Hamm said GMP 1 (previously approved) covered civil work and long-lead items at approximately $12.5 million. Jason Santor of CORE’s preconstruction team said the GMP 2 package the board considered is part of a total project scope the presentation identified at about $117,759,000. “We received over a 100 bids on this project,” Santor said, and CORE emphasized that market volatility, lead times and labor availability informed the budgeting and value options considered.

Consultants walked the board through site features and safety decisions: drainage and window-frame drainage systems, covered doorways and a single secure entry point with bullet-resistant glass in main lobbies. The design uses classroom cohorts around flex spaces with operable partitions; at Curry many interior operable partitions will be marker-board (opaque) surfaces rather than clear glass, the consultants said, while Connolly will have some sliding glass doors in flex areas.

Board members raised repeated concerns about interior glass, supervision and distraction. Board member Miss Windsor asked for evidence that glass partitions reduce visual and auditory distraction; DLR acknowledged trade-offs and cited improvements in operable partition technology and post-occupancy learnings from other district projects. DLR and district staff said they intend to stage principal/teacher tours of comparable schools and to provide professional development before occupancy.

The board also questioned cafeteria layouts and acoustics (consultants said they increased serving area relative to Moseley and added ceiling clouds and wall panels for absorption), elective-space sizes (consultants said 14 larger elective rooms were planned at Connolly with minimums around 1,200 square feet for some elective rooms), and power/flexibility for future reconfiguration (district and CORE said they are adding extra electrical pathways and IDF/MDF capacity for future technology loads).

Board member Mr. Lemon moved to approve GMP No. 2 for Curry and Connolly; a second was recorded. A roll-call-style vocal response in the room produced multiple “Aye” responses and the president announced “Motion passes.” The transcript records at least two explicit “Aye” responses (the board president and another board member) and the chair’s announcement that the motion passed; the meeting minutes should contain the official roll call tally.

CORE and the district characterized the schedule as aggressive but achievable: CORE said it is targeting completion of major work so the campuses could be operational by January 2028 (staged openings noted) and that the team is actively managing schedule, procurement and trade partner coordination.

Next steps: With the GMP 2 approval the project moves into full procurement and construction phases described by CORE; district staff said they will continue coordinating site logistics, security clearances for trade partners, and professional development for school staff to operate the new facilities when they open.