The Carmel Clay Schools board of trustees declared an emergency and awarded bids of more than $2.7 million for repairs at Carmel High School for damage caused by an explosion on Dec. 26, 2018.
The board approved the decision unanimously at its May 20 meeting. By declaring an emergency, state law allows the district to forego the normal process of advertising for bids or quotes as long as they are invited from at least two entities with experience in public work.
CCS solicited bids from 41 contractors and received responses from seven of them, leading to the $2.7 million approved at the board meeting.
The district has already paid more than $665,000 to cover initial repairs to secure the building after the blast. Insurance is expected to cover most of the costs except for the district’s $75,000 deductible.
“From a financial standpoint, this incident was not hugely significant as far as our direct cost,” said Roger McMichael, CCS assistant superintendent for business affairs.
The total cost of the damage is still not known, as the bid award did not include expenses such as fees for architects, construction managers and damaged furniture, McMichael said.
Repairs are expected to be complete by the end of August.
Investigators determined a gas leak led to the explosion in a maintenance room, which injured two nearby workers. Approximately 100 other people in the building at the time were not injured.
