Salina USD 305 has approved nearly $2.2 million for emergency roof work at South Middle School following hail damage, with insurance expected to reimburse the project after the district's deductible.

The Salina Board of Education approved a $2,195,416.67 contract with Wray Roofing as part of its Aug. 11 consent agenda.

District records describe the project as an emergency hail-damage roof repair and replacement at South Middle School.

Insurance Expected to Reimburse Project

The district's board material indicates the South Middle project will be reimbursed by insurance after the deductible.

The publicly available information reviewed by Salina311 does not identify the amount of that deductible. As a result, the exact portion of the $2.2 million project that will ultimately be paid by the district rather than its insurer is not yet clear.

The district also did not identify in its public meeting summary how much insurance has already paid or when reimbursement is expected.

Wray Selected Through Cooperative Contract

The $2.2 million project was not identified as a traditional project-specific low-bid award.

Instead, district records say the emergency work is being procured through TIPS cooperative contract No. 24010402.

TIPS, or The Interlocal Purchasing System, is a cooperative purchasing program through which participating public entities can purchase from vendors under contracts that have already gone through the cooperative's procurement process.

The South Middle contract is described in the district's records as a one-time emergency hail-damage roof repair.

Additional Roof Projects Approved

South Middle was not the only roofing project included in the Aug. 11 consent agenda.

The board also approved $235,106.62 with Wray Roofing for work at Heartland Early Education and $385,781 for work at Lakewood Middle School.

The Heartland project also involves storm-damaged roofing and has been identified as being covered under a separate storm insurance claim.

Together, the three Wray Roofing items total approximately $2.82 million.

Track and Field Equipment Also Approved

The board's consent agenda included new track and field equipment for Salina's two high schools.

Contracts with BSN Sports for Central High School and South High School totaled approximately $215,875 combined.

The equipment purchases are separate from the roofing work.

$320,000 for Stucco and Window Sill Work

The district also approved $320,088.41 with CityWide for stucco and window sill work at Stewart Elementary and South High School.

Combined, the South Middle roof, Heartland and Lakewood roofing projects, track and field equipment and CityWide work represent more than $3.35 million in approved expenditures appearing on the Aug. 11 consent agenda.

The largest individual item was the $2.2 million South Middle School roof project.

Because insurance is expected to reimburse the South Middle work after the deductible, the contract amount should not be interpreted as a $2.2 million direct cost to local taxpayers. The district's ultimate share will depend on its deductible and any portions of the work determined to be outside insurance coverage.