Progress toward creating a new Whitefish High School continues to move forward.

Late last month the school district released a request for qualifications to select a general contractor/construction manager for construction of the new school. The design team has refined the schematic design of the school and were set to present the updated plan to the school board early this week.

The new school is set to be about 120,000 square feet and a mix of new construction and renovation.

The district is looking to use a general contractor for preconstruciton services to assist with cost estimates and construction analysis. Responses to the RFQ are due back on July 22. The district will review the responses and select a group of contractors to send a Request for Proposal. The proposals will be due July 30 and interviews following that. The school board is expected to select the general contractor in early August.

Once the contractor is selected, the project schedule will be finalized. Currently, the project is set to go out to bid after December with the expectation of breaking ground in early spring of 2013. The new portion of the school is expected to be completed and ready in August 2014 and remodeled portions summers of 2013 and 2014.

The design team, DLR Group and Jackola Architects and Engineers, has spent the last six weeks refining the schematic design of the school. They’ve met with faculty, administration and the school board to further refine the schematic design of the school.

The team met with the school board Tuesday to present the design drawings and cost estimates for the overall project and confirm that the project remains on target for the $19 million budget. The current set of plans includes a total of 123,297 square feet, including 77,600 square feet of new construction and 45,900 square feet of renovation.

The district has been awarded a $7,000 grant to pay for a preliminary feasibility study to determine whether or not to incorporate a biomass energy system in the district facilities.

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation grant will pay for the study for not just the high school, but also look at the possibility of the use of central heating plant for both the high school and Muldown Elementary. The study will include information about the possible use of biomass energy at the middle school also.

The study is expected to be completed in August.