Contractor selected for construction of La Grande School District athletic, academic center

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, September 17, 2022

LA GRANDE — The La Grande School District is a step closer to starting construction of its new academic and athletic center building.

The La Grande School Board on Wednesday, Sept. 14, voted to accept a recommendation from the school district’s bond oversight committee and name the La Grande construction firm of Mike Becker General Contractor the design build contractor for the project.


The Mike Becker General Contractor company, as the design build contractor, will be responsible for designing and constructing the new academic and athletic center building. The building will replace the school district’s 90-year-old annex gym. The gym building will later be torn down, a process Becker General Contractor will also be responsible for.


Becker was recommended by the La Grande School District’s bond oversight committee on the basis of its overall proposed financial package and the quality of its application, according to Lance Rinker, a committee member.


The La Grande School District will negotiate a contract with Mike Becker General Contractor and present it to the La Grande School Board for approval. 


The bond oversight committee received bid packages from three companies for the academic and athletic building project, two from the La Grande area and one from Bend. The nine members on the committee scored the applications of the three companies independently and all but one gave Mike Becker General Contractor the highest overall mark. The only individual who did not rate Becker first placed the company second, Rinker said. 


The companies were scored on factors such as their proposed financial package, their experience working with school districts, the previous projects they have completed and how they would utilize the resources of the community. 


Rinker said he was impressed with all three of the companies that submitted proposals for the project. He said Mike Becker General Contractor stood above the rest because of its overall experience, attention to detail and reputation for “always going above and beyond.”

For the construction of the academic and athletic center, which will include two gyms, the La Grande School District has a total of $8.845 million available. In May, voters approved a $4.845 million bond levy, Measure 31-105, for the new facility, and the district also will receive a $4 million Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching program grant from the state.

The new structure — which in addition to two gyms will have locker rooms and multiple classrooms — will be a pre-engineered building, with portions manufactured before construction begins. Constructing a pre-engineered building will take less time because it is designed to have the frame and roof put up first, Joseph Waite, the La Grande School District’s facilities manager, told The Observer in July. This will protect constructions crews from inclement weather and prevent delays.