Board finalizes price on Higley High building project 

By Tom Blodgett
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Twitter: @sp_blodgett

The Higley USD Governing Board approved a second guaranteed maximum price of $6.63 million for construction in phase one of the Higley High School building project. 

The vote was 4-0 with Board Member Kristina Reese absent.  

Together with a previously approved $70,000 preconstruction fee and first round of guaranteed maximum price of $1.87 million, it brings the cost of the project’s first phase to $8.57 million. 

The high school, established in 2001, was built with the state’s School Facilities Board money and thus done to minimum specifications as the state requires. The project is to expand the school to accommodate growth and update facilities to modernize them. 

DLR is the architectural firm and Chasse Building Team the construction contractor on the project. 

Community education 

Heidi Lindsay, the district’s new executive director of elementary education, and Kimberly Ohanian, assistant director of community education, presented to the governing board about the district’s community education programs. Among the highlights of the presentation: 

• Kids Club enrollment is at 966 this month, up from 483 last August. 
• Intersession enrollments were 1,248 last school year. 
• Upcoming plans include extended Higley Youth Sports League and enrichment opportunities and an intramural district employee softball league in the spring. 
• The district is looking for volunteers from the community for HYSL. 
• Kids Club is undergoing a cost analysis with a fee review with the intention of bringing a proposal to the governing board in November. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert
@sp_blodgett

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).