ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Monday, the Rochelle Township High School Board of Education unanimously rejected bids for an upcoming detention pond reconstruction project due to a change in the scope of the work.

A big opening was held for the project on May 10, in which Porter Brothers Construction Inc. was the low bidder with $331,798. Fehr Graham, the project's engineer, reviewed the bids, but due to a design error it made, all bids had to be rejected and the project will be rebid in the next month for approval at next month's meeting.

Noah Carmichael of Fehr Graham said the project changes had to be made due to grading issues and a larger amount of fill having to be removed from the site, rather than being spread out on site. Carmichael said the City of Rochelle's engineering department rejected the original plans due to concerns with how it would affect the floodplain.

District Business Manager Kevin Dale and Carmichael said four bids were received for the first bidding process, and at least 2-3 are expected to be received for the next bidding process. Dale said due to the change in the scope of the work, the new bid numbers are expected to be higher.

The detention pond is on the northeast portion of RTHS's property. The pond was originally designed to hold water for drainage. After a wetland project years ago, the pond has become "overgrown and unmanageable" and has seen issues with beaver dams and flooding issues, Dale said at a previous meeting. The pond is near a native stream.

Dale has said previously that current drainage will be extended and that the work will help with flooding that occurs on sports fields. The work will also include beautification and making it easier to maintain by mowing to prevent future flooding and runoff. The work is planned for the drier late-summer months.

Retirees

District Superintendent Jason Harper recognized three employees of the district that will be retiring at the end of the school year. Retirees include Assistant Principal David Perrin (30 years of service), English teacher David Welle (33 years of service) and Shared District Secretary to the Superintendent Kathy Bull (27 years of service). The district's 2024 retirees have a combined 90 years of service.

Personnel

The board unanimously approved personnel changes including the resignations of Michael Belmonte (paraprofessional, Focus House), Ellen Miller (paraprofessional), Calla Stroh (girls freshman basketball coach), Maria Shank (main office secretary) and Mark Zilis (assistant boys track coach) and the employment of Jorden Sasscer (shared district treasurer), Phil Winters (summer school teacher) and David Molgas Zepeda (substitute teacher).

Graduation

Dean of Students Brett Zick conducted the monthly principal's report portion of the meeting. He reminded the board and those in attendance that RTHS's graduation will take place on Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. and will take place outdoors on the football field as it has in recent years, weather permitting. Summer school will begin on Monday, June 3 and conclude on Thursday, July 11.