Spokane Public Schools says it has approved four construction contracts totaling $12 million for roofing and mechanical-system projects at three elementary schools and athletic-facility improvements at three high schools.

Work on the projects, which will be funded through the six-year, $288 million bond levy that was approved by voters in 2008, is set to start this spring and is expected to be mostly completed before school starts in the fall, says Gregory Brown, the district's director of capital projects.

Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, won the largest of the four recently approved contracts with a low bid of $7.5 million to replace roofs and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems at Roosevelt, Whitman, and Woodridge elementary schools, Brown says.

The work will improve air quality and increase energy efficiency at Woodridge, at 5100 W. Shawnee; at Whitman, at 5400 N. Helena; and Roosevelt, at 333 W. 14th, Brown says. Bernardo Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, designed the projects.

The district has awarded the high school athletic-facility improvement jobs under three separate contracts. It has selected Kilgore Construction Inc., of Colbert, to construct field improvements valued at $1.8 million at Shadle Park High School. The Shadle project, at 2005 W. Wellesley, will include construction of a new track and football practice field with an irrigation system, a small storage-building addition, and a new concessions building, Brown says.

T.W. Clark Construction LLC, of Spokane, has won a $1.5 million contract to construct field improvements at Rogers High School, he says. The Rogers project, at 1622 E. Wellesley, includes replacing the surface of the running track there, improving the athletic field, and installing a new irrigation system. Also, T.W. Clark will construct a 200-square-foot addition to an existing athletic storage building and install scoreboards, bleachers, and baseball dugouts, Brown says.

Halme Builders Inc., of Davenport, has won a $1.2 million contract to remodel and expand locker rooms at North Central High School, Brown says, adding that North Central's locker rooms currently are half the size of such facilities at other high schools in the district. The project, at 1600 N. Howard, will dedicate a total of 3,000 square feet of floor space to make North Central's locker rooms comparable in size to the other schools.

Bernardo Wills designed the Shadle and Rogers projects, and Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, designed the North Central project.

Next on the district's construction schedule are two of its largest projects planned under the 2008 bond levy, Brown says.

In one of those projects, Garco, the general contractor on the Ferris High School replacement project, at 3020 E. 37th, plans to select a subcontractor to start site work at 3020 E. 37th this month, Brown says. The construction cost for Ferris is estimated at $55 million, and the total cost of equipping and furnishing it is estimated at $90 million.

Also this month, the district plans to select a contractor for the $14 million Westview Elementary school replacement project, at 6104 N. Moore, he says.

The Westview project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2012, and the Ferris project is on a three-year construction schedule, Brown says.