OKEECHOBEE- The long process of starting work on a new high school in Okeechobee took another step forward in July of 2021.

At their July 13 meeting, Okeechobee County School Board members approved the appointment of an Alternative Construction Delivery Method Review Panel, an advisory group consisting of the superintendent of schools, assistant superintendent for administrative services, director of finance, director of operations, as well as a parent from the district and a student representative.

After meeting on July 14, the panel came back with the recommendation to the board for the district to use the “Construction Manager at Risk” delivery method for the high school. That delivery method entails a commitment by the construction manager to deliver the project within a guaranteed maximum price which is based on the construction documents and specifications at the time plus any reasonably inferred items or tasks.

At their July 22 meeting the Okeechobee County School Board approved the recommendation by the construction delivery panel and also moved forward to approve a request for qualifications for construction management at-risk for the replacement of Okeechobee High School.

The district is now accepting written proposals from qualified construction firms to provide professional at-risk construction management services for the budgeting and construction phase on the proposed new high school. The deadline for proposals is Aug. 18.

At their September meeting the Okeechobee County School Board will be presented with a shortlist of construction firms to be approved. Then, in October the final firm will need to be approved based on the recommendation of the construction review panel formed by the district. On Oct. 19 the School Board will need to approve a contract with a contractor.

Funds for a new Okeechobee High School were included in the new $100 billion state budget signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 2.

Approximately $66.8 million in the state budget will go to building a new high school in Okeechobee.

At their June 8 meeting, members of the Okeechobee County School Board received an update from Greg Kelley of CRA Architects on the project.

CRA, which has designed multiple schools in Florida, including South Fork High School in Stuart and Marathon Middle/High School in Marathon, was selected to help design the new school in Okeechobee.

“The cost of constriction materials is at an all-time high,” continued Kelley. “We may be having some conversations on that down the road.”