Board takes up $3.1 million to fit out two new pre-K centers

What happened

The agenda for the Aug. 18, 2026 regular meeting put two contracts for the Bright Beginnings North and South pre-K campuses to a vote: up to $1,800,000 for ten playgrounds and up to $1,300,000 for furnishings, fixtures and equipment. The same agenda carried permanent easements at Norge Elementary School and Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School tied to the two campuses. Minutes for that meeting were not published when these records were collected, so the outcome is not established here.

Why it matters to families

The two new pre-K centers are due to open in August 2027 and are the reason the division is redrawing every attendance zone: pre-K classes now sit inside five elementary schools, and moving them out frees space. Playgrounds and furniture are the last big pieces of equipping the buildings, so these contracts are a marker of how close the project is to opening.

The evidence

The Aug. 18, 2026 regular meeting agenda records item 7.07, award of contract for Request for Proposal #20260882 for ten playgrounds for Bright Beginnings North and South campuses to Sparks@Play for a total cost not to exceed $1.8 million, and item 7.08, award of contract for Request for Proposal #20260900 for furnishings, fixtures and equipment for the same campuses to Lakeshore and Ball Office for a total cost not to exceed $1.3 million. The June 16, 2026 redistricting item records the anticipated August 2027 occupancy of the two pre-K centers and that the current pre-K program is housed in five elementary schools.

The source