Leone & Keeble Inc., of Spokane, has submitted an apparent low bid of $6.6 million for a project to replace roofs and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems at three Spokane Public Schools elementary schools.

Greg Brown, the district's director of capital projects, says the bid came in well below the district's $9 million cost estimate for the planned upgrades at the three schools: Audubon, at 2020 W. Carlisle; Cooper, at 3200 N. Ferrall; and Holmes, at 2600 W. Sharp.

Brown says he expects the district's board will accept the bid at its next regular meeting on Jan. 13.

The work, which is expected to be done next summer, will extend the lives of the schools, improve air quality inside the buildings, and make them more energy efficient, the district says.

Leone & Keeble's bid is for the second of four rounds of HVAC and roof replacements that altogether will involve nine elementary schools, all of which will be funded through the six-year $288 million bond issue that voters approved last March.

Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, did similar work in the two-school, $5 million first round of upgrades last summer at Garfield and Longfellow elementary schools.

The third round will involve the same types of improvements at Roosevelt, Whitman, and Mullan Road elementary schools in the summer of 2011, and will be put out to bid next winter, and the fourth round will be done in 2014 at Woodridge Elementary School, according to the district's project schedule.

Bernardo Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, designed the projects at the first five schools and also has been selected to design the projects for the next three schools.

Other projects to be funded through the bond issue include the $90 million-plus Ferris High School modernization, and replacing or renovating Westview, Jefferson, Finch, and Hutton elementary schools at construction costs estimated at $14 million to $16 million each.