The Cape Girardeau school board hired new personnel and awarded a contract to renovate Clippard Elementary School during a special meeting Monday.

The board hired 10 certified and classified employees during the meeting, including Sydney Herbst to replace Stan Seiler as principal at Clippard next fall. Seiler resigned last month to take a position in Jackson School District.

Herbst has 11 years teaching experience in Cape Girardeau elementary schools and last spring became assistant principal at Alma Schrader and a remedial math teacher at Jefferson school. However, she has worked as acting principal at Washington school most of the year to replace Pamela Barnes, who is on maternity leave.

In other action the board awarded Sides Construction a contract to renovate Clippard school for $1,122,733.

Three companies submitted bids for the contract, but the low bid from Zoellner Construction was disqualified due to miscalculation of its base bid.

Planned renovations to Clippard include the installation of air conditioning, new windows and doors, a 30-station computer lab and a new bell system. Other renovations include two full-sized kindergarten rooms, increased storage space, electric upgrades, an enlarged library and general building repairs.

District architect Tom Holshouser said the bids were higher than the estimate of $741,196 in the district's long-range master plan.

"The bids were about 16 percent over our estimate," said Holshouser. "With the low bidder, it looked good, but he made a big mistake (in his base bid)."

Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent and board member Bob Blank were absent from the meeting, which was held at the district administrative office.

Clippard School bids

General Contractor: Kiefner Brothers

Base Bid: $1,185,000

Alternate A1 to replace entry doors: $3,750

Total Bid: $1,188,750

General Contractor: Sides Construction

Base Bid: $1,118,333

Alternate A1 to replace entry doors: $4,400

Total Bid: $1,122,733

General Contractor: Zoellner Construction

Disqualified due to error in submitted bid

Base Bid: $938,580,000 submitted inaccurately

actual bid -- $1,075,404.03

Alternate A1 to replace entry doors: $3,500

Total Actual Bid: $1,078,904.03