Wood County Schools recognized its 2025 professional and service personnel retirees Tuesday at Parkersburg South High School during the Wood County Schools Board of Education regular meeting.(Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG – In an effort to combat rising prices, the Wood County Board of Education approved the $24.6 million bid for the construction of the new Lincoln Elementary to Grae-Con Construction even with the bid coming in at around $5 million over the original projection.

Ryan Taylor, CEO of Pickering Associates, said the overall forecast for all the bond projects are currently projected to come in just over $6.2 million. He said with the proposed $2.9 million in opportunity savings presented the overage of the budget should come down to between $2-$3.3 million.

He said this would cause the district to find that $3.3 million from their general budget.

Superintendent Christie Willis said there is $7 million in the capital improvement fund that could be used to offset that overage.

Read more about how the district plans to cut costs in the Thursday edition of the News and Sentinel.