ASHLAND — The Ashland City Schools board of education accepted another large donation for the high school stadium entrance project on Monday.
The $200,000 donation prompted board president Zack Truax to describe the donors, Bob and Janet Archer, as “a blessing.”
“I just continue to be amazed and humbled by the generosity of the Archers,” Truax said. “What they’ve done for our community, what they have done for my children, my grandchildren and the facilities that are available to us now, I just — they are a blessing.
“There’s just not many people out there like them.”
The Archers’ donation comes on the heels of a separate $250,000 donation from Norma and Lloyd Wygant, which the board accepted in December.
At the time, the stadium entrance project was estimated to cost just north of $942,000. The district went to bid for the project earlier this month, district treasurer Kyle Klingler said.
Simonson Construction, of Ashland, was the lone bidder for $919,921, according to Klingler.
With $450,000 in donations, however, the district’s cost will be $469,921, using a mixture of capital outlay and permanent improvement funds.
Superintendent Doug Marrah said he and other administrative officials are nervous about lead times for materials, some of which he’s been told could be up to 14 weeks.
“We want (the stadium entrance project) to be done before the start of the football season,” he said.
But he said the target date is to have a dedication a few days before the high school football team’s last home game, scheduled for Oct. 23, a Sunday.
In other construction-related news, the school board gave the administration the green light to seek bids for the construction of two storage buildings.
The buildings, one at Edison Elementary and the other at Reagan Elementary, are estimated to cost the district $195,000 apiece.
The board hired VSWC Architects for that project’s design. That company’s fees are not to exceed $25,000.
A previous version of this article mistakenly reported the donation amount from the Archers as $250,000.
