91ÊÓƵ

Contractors looking for work from Beaverton School District‘s $680 million capital improvement bond, approved by voters in May, will not have to wait long.

The bond is providing $98 million over eight years for physical facility improvement projects, and much of that work is taking place during summer months. Projects including a $5.5 million roof replacement at Sunset High School, a field turf replacement at Aloha High School and telecommunications upgrades at several schools are under way, said David Etchart, the district’s administrator for facilities development.

“We’ve taken on those projects that were most pressing,” he said. “There are other projects that can be done during the school year.”

Parking lots, windows, HVAC systems and electrical systems are due for upgrades, Etchart said. Over time, those projects will be either bundled together into larger projects or bid separately.

The bond money will pay for hundreds of projects, including construction of a new, $51.6 million middle school at the district-owned Timberland site and a new, $109 million high school at South Cooper Mountain off of Southwest Scholls Ferry Road. The district on Aug. 1 will award design and engineering contracts for both schools, Etchart said.

Then construction manager-general contractor contracts will be awarded in the fall, he said. Construction is scheduled to start in April or May 2015 and require three years for the high school and two years for the middle school, according to the district.

Other projects, including construction of four replacement schools each requiring one year to build, will begin after the new middle school is completed because students will occupy the building while their school is being built.

The district also announced that it will hire 25 new employees – including project managers, schedulers and purchasing agents – by next spring, he said.

For more information about the bond projects, visit .