Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

The Howell Public Schools Board of Education on Monday approved a nearly $18 million bid for the new Northwest Elementary School.

"For the packages at Northwest, a total of 188 bids were received, which is an excellent result," said Trustee Jason Bedford, who sits on the district's Bond Oversight Committee.

"The bids received were trending under budget, like two to two-and-a-half percent below our cost projections, which I think is an excellent indicator for future packages once we go out for bids on those."

The new Northwest Elementary is expected to open in the fall of 2027.

Trustees also signed off on a $1.1 million contract to Delta Network Services of Bloomfield Township, to update the district's wireless network.

"They'll actually build our entire network off site before implementing. That is almost 100 different switches, pulling them out of boxes and putting them together, just like it was our network at their location, so there's no dead on arrivals when they get onto site here," said Paul Pominville, assistant superintendent of operations and technology.

And Highlander Way Middle School will get a new rooftop HVAC unit installed over the summer, at a cost of about $54,000. The board approved the bid from ThermalNetics of Auburn Hills.

"The Daikin product is what we use throughout the district. We have knowledge of the units. We have parts on the shelf for being able to repair," Pominville added.

Highlander Way's new HVAC system should be installed before students return for fall semester.