The Newton School Board tonight will be asked to approve a bid for the Aurora Heights Elementary School addition and renovations that is well below the estimated cost. On Thursday afternoon, nine bids for the project were opened at the EJH Beard Administration Office, and all were below the $14.5-million dollar projected cost. The low bid of $12,895,000 was from Graphite Construction Group. That’s $1.6 million less than the estimated cost. To pay for the first phase of additions and renovations to Aurora Heights and Thomas Jefferson Elementary Schools, the Newton School Board has approved the sale of $10 million of School Infrastructure, Sales, Services, and Use Tax Revenue Bonds. These two elementary buildings will remain open once each has been updated to hold up to 500 pre-kindergarten through 4th grade students. At the end of September, a low bid of $5,378,349 from Bi-State Contracting in Burlington was approved for the addition and renovations at Thomas Jefferson Elementary.  The Newton School District is transitioning from four elementary schools to two in the fall of 2026, due to a continual decline in enrollment. Tonight’s Newton School Board meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the EJH Beard Administration Center at 1302 First Avenue West.