Colin Rogers, president of Brockmiller Construction, presents his company's qualifications during the April 24 special meeting of the Board of Education. Brockmiller was selected by the board to serve as the construction manager (CM) for the tornado recovery efforts.
The Perry County School District 32 Board of Education has contracted with SAPP Design Architects to provide architectural and engineering services for recovery and rebuilding efforts following the March 14 tornado, and with Brockmiller Construction to provide construction management services.
The tornado damaged all buildings on campus to varying degrees, with Perryville High School and the Old Senior High having the most severe damage.
Superintendent Dr. Fara Jones requested at the March 26 special board meeting that the board allow her to issue Requests For Qualifications (RFQs) for an architectural and engineering (A/E) firm, as well as for a construction manager (CM). The board approved her request, and six A/E firms submitted their qualifications. Four CM companies submitted proposals. A committee scored each proposal, and the top three in each category were selected for interviews.
During the April 22 special board meeting, the board interviewed the three A/E firms — SAPP Design, Paragon Architecture, and Bond Architects, Inc. Each firm was allotted 15 minutes for their presentation and 15 minutes for questions. After discussing the options, the board voted unanimously to work with SAPP Design Architects. SAPP Design has previously worked with Perry County School District 32 in 2007, when they designed the biomass heating building.
“I am looking forward to working with SAPP Design,” Dr. Jones said. “They have a strong history of working with schools, several of which experienced damage from tornadoes. They have worked with Joplin, Goodman, and Neosho to rebuild facilities after storms, and designed the rebuild of Fredericktown Middle School after a fire destroyed the building in 2010.
“Their team realizes that we are in recovery and must prioritize projects based on the needs of our students. They understand that we have found temporary spaces for students and can help us evaluate our facilities to determine the best use of our spaces when we return to school in August.
“I was also impressed with SAPP Design’s willingness to facilitate community engagement so that our plan going forward will reflect the needs and wishes of our students, staff, and community,” Dr. Jones said. “Finally, this team has a proven record of coming in under budget on projects like ours. It’s incredibly important that the decisions we make going forward make the best use of our resources.”
Stephen Telscher, partner and senior project manager at SAPP Design, said that the firm is ready to engage the district’s stakeholders to deliver educational environments that reflect modern standards for safety, flexibility, and 21st-century learning.
“This is more than a restoration project,” Telscher said. “It’s an opportunity to build back smarter, stronger, and safer while honoring the deep-rooted pride the Perryville community has in its schools.”
Following the same procedure, the three construction management (CM) companies presented their proposals and answered questions. The board voted to work with Brockmiller Construction, which has worked with District 32 on several projects including the new Perry County Middle School.
“I am excited to work with Colin Rogers and his team at Brockmiller as we begin to plan what our high school will be in the future,” Dr. Jones said. “They contacted us immediately after the tornado and offered whatever immediate assistance we needed.
“The Brockmiller team has a long history of working with K-12 schools, including District 32,” she said. “They have a proven track record of working well with local subcontractors and vendors, and we want to work with those local companies. Brockmiller has worked with other schools that have experienced tornado damage and are very familiar with the process of working with insurance and FEMA for the benefit of the school. In fact, they have been working closely with South Iron R-1 School District in Annapolis to rebuild after a May 2024 tornado and come highly recommended by Superintendent Chad Middleton.
During his presentation to the board, Rogers went into detail about how he was able to work with South Iron’s insurance company to expand the school’s payout from an initial $1.9 million to over $6 million.
“Our focus will be to make sure that we identify all damages that have occurred to the district’s facilities to ensure that you all receive all of the insurance dollars that you’re entitled to, so that we rebuild the school that your students deserve,” Rogers said. “We’ve been your partner on many projects, so we feel like this is our school, too. We’re going to be here with you for the long haul.”
The gym floor at Perryville High School has been heavily damaged by rain following the Marh 14 tornado.
A social studies classroom was also exposed to the elements after the March 14 tornado tore down a wall at Perryville High School.