JACKSONVILLE — The Jacksonville Independent School District is looking for local sub-contractors and suppliers to construct new two campuses for East Side Elementary and Joe Wright Elementary.

Pogue Construction, construction manager at risk for the project, will provide bid information at a vendor fair June 8 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Norman Activity Center, 526 E. Commerce.

“It’s to make sure all of our local people who qualify have an opportunity to take part of the bid process,” said JISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell. “It think it’s very important to give that opportunity to as many local people as we can. They’re tax payers in the area. They’re good supporters of the school. So I think it’s very important for us to have the information there, make sure they know how the process works and give them the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Hiring local vendors for the project is beneficial to the community, said Peggy Renfro, president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.

“It keeps local people employed and then it also keeps our dollars here in our town,” Renfro said.

The only vendor fair will be held in Jacksonville, but JISD has placed advertisements for sub-contractors and suppliers in newspapers throughout East Texas.  

All bids received will be evaluated fairly and in accordance with the Texas Education Code to obtain the best value for JISD. All bids will be received until June 30. Bids may be delivered, emailed or faxed to Pogue Construction’s office in McKinney. For more information, visit pogue construction.com.

On June 30, the district will host a vendor seminar to inform local businesses how to become purchasing cooperatives with JISD and the City of Jacksonville.

Every summer the district buys new materials, such as office supplies and furniture, in preparation for a new school year.

The vendor seminar will serve as first step in buying supplies from local businesses, Wardell said.

This year purchases will be even more in preparation for the new campuses, he said.

The vendor seminar will be June 30 at 10 a.m. at the Norman Activity Center. Those interested must RSVP by June 7. To reserve a spot email info@jacksonvilletexas.com or call 903-686-2217.

Each campus is estimated to cost more than $16 million. Construction of the 85,000-square-foot East Side Elementary campus and the 91,000-square-foot Joe Wright Elementary campus is expected to begin after JISD board approval in July and will be completed in August 2012.

The new East Side Elementary campus will accommodate 750 students, 100 more students than the school now enrolls. The new Joe Wright Elementary campus will accommodate 750 students, upping the school’s possible enrollment by more than 200 students.

“Part of our problem right now is because of our limited space a lot of our students don’t even go to the school where they live,” Wardell said. “We’re currently using every classroom at every one of our elementary schools.”

The district has more than 30 portables, he added.

“The buildings will be totally enclosed instead of individual separate buildings — like at East Side, there are seven different buildings and 33 outside doors to that campus,” Wardell said. “So security is a real big concern at all of our campuses and this will put all of our students into a much more secure area.”

The new campuses will more than accommodate the district average annual enrollment growth of 2 percent, he said.

Despite pending state budget cuts to public education, JISD may hire new teachers for the facilities if enrollment increases, Wardell said.

For each additional student enrolled, the district receives additional state funding.

An early resignation incentive program, initiated by the district in February, has allowed the district to stay within budget. More than 30 JISD employees received $500 each to notify the district that they were resigning, saving the district $300,000.

Those savings may allow the district to hire new teachers when the facilities are completed, Wardell said.