Reject York Auditorium Bids: Official

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 is poised to reject the bids for a $7 million auditorium project at York High School.

On Wednesday, a district official told a school board committee that there were "potentially better offers out there."

"There are potentially some alternative components that will save some cash," Todd Schmidt, the district's director of facilities, told the board's finance committee.

A bid opening was held last week, but Schmidt did not speak about the bid amounts at the committee meeting.

Now, the board is set to award the project to a contractor in January. Schmidt said he did not expect that to delay the work.

The school plans for the auditorium to be out of commission from June 2023 to August 2024.

At the meeting, the committee's chairman, Jim Collins, asked Schmidt to articulate the tradeoffs when he asks the board to vote to reject the bids.

"What are we giving up or gaining?" Schmidt asked.

The project is part of the $168 million referendum that voters approved in 2018.

At a meeting in September, the board was told that inflation may increase the project's cost by $700,000.

The work includes re-sloping the floor and replacing seats, flooring, the orchestra shell, lighting and stage equipment.