Builders chosen
Construction contracts have been awarded for additions being built at three Surrey elementary schools.
Hillcrest, Chimney Hill and Cambridge are each slated to have four-classroom additions built on.
For Cambridge (61 Avenue and 150 Street), eight firms submitted bids, ranging from $670,000 to $898,600 to complete the project. Envoy Construction Ltd., which entered the lowest bid, won the contract.
At Chimney Hill (74 Avenue and 147 Street), 13 bids were received ranging from $1.49 million to $1.9 million. The lowest bid, from Pro-Can Construction Group Corp. was chosen.
Eight first submitted bids for the Hillcrest (65 Avenue and 185 Street) addition, ranging from $1.23 million to $1.47 million. S. Henningson Construction Ltd., the lowest bidder, won the contract.
The hope is that the school additions, which are being built to support full-day kindergarten classes, will be ready by fall.
Car reimbursement steady
Employees of the Surrey School District will receive no increase this year for their car mileage expenses.
School trustees voted last week to maintain the current reimbursement rate of 51 cents per kilometre – the amount that's been in place for several years now.
The rate is two cents lower than that paid to City of Surrey employees and a penny less than the B.C. School Trustees' Association.
Each year, the Department of Finance and Government of Canada reviews and announces the prescribed rates for automobile operating expenses. The school district generally sets its rate one cent below the Government of Canada rate, which is currently 52 cents per kilometre.