EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District will ask for bids for a complete remodel of Grant Elementary School, an ESD press release said. Plans to renovate the Ephrata High Performing Arts Center and PAC gymnasium have been placed on hold due to budgetary constraints though.

“The world has changed in many ways since Ephrata initially approved the 2019 bond,” said Tim Payne, Ephrata School District Superintendent. “We could not have anticipated the pandemic-related cost increases we’ve experienced at projects currently underway at Columbia Ridge Elementary and Ephrata Middle School.”

The projects are part of a $27.89 million dollar bond passed by the Ephrata community and matched with state funds in 2019. The total project revenues, including local and state-matched funds, is $79.5 million dollars. The increased costs though impacted that budget more than could be projected.

“Unfortunately we don’t have enough money left to complete everything we’d originally planned. We prioritized what we could afford to do with remaining funds. Ultimately, in light of our mission to exist for kids and learning, we decided that completing the full renovation of Grant Elementary was in the best interest of kids and our community,” Payne said via the press release.

The remodel will include adding a security vestibule, a new multipurpose stage and gym, a larger cafeteria, office area upgrades and replacement of the school’s roof, said ESD spokesperson Sarah Morford.

The Grant Elementary project will be sent out for bid in late summer of this year and district officials say they anticipate bids to return at about 55% more than they’d initially anticipated. The district had previously put the project out for bids last summer but was forced to shelve the projects when costs returned at about 40% higher than expected.

The district will use its reserve funds to bridge the gap between the remaining bond dollars and the bid price for the Grant Elementary project, the press release said.