General construction bids for renovations at Lehighton Area School District's middle and high schools came back over budget, district officials said Monday night.

According to Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver, the district will likely compensate for that fact in its selection of alternates and the way it handles roof repairs at the high school.The total cost for renovations at both buildings could cost anywhere from $25 million-$30 million, Andrew Blaydon, of the EI Associates architectural firm, said.Lehighton received bids last week for the renovations, which include an overhaul of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in both buildings, among other improvements."The final cost is largely contingent on the HVAC system picked for the project and how many alternates are selected," Blaydon said.Lobar Inc. of Dillsburg was the lowest general construction bidder at $15.4 million for both projects and all alternates."That part of the project came in about 25 percent over our budget estimates, while the plumbing and the electrical were pretty much right on," said Karl Kauffman, of project management firm Quandel Inc.A metal roof replacement at the high school is part of what drove up the cost of Lobar's bid and put it over budget, he added."What we found after the fact is that because it is a Butler roof system, we would need to have Butler certified people doing the work," Kauffman said. "That really limits the competition for the job."To alleviate that issue, Kauffman said he is recommending the district leave the dormers in place and do a roof recoating via a state bid contract."That will save around $250,000 to $300,000 on that alternate," he added.Albarell Electric of Bethlehem was the lowest electrical contract bidder at $2.8 million.After low plumbing contract bidder Yanuzzi Inc. of Hazleton withdrew its bid due to a clerical error, Jay R. Reynolds of Willow Street, Pennsylvania, became the cheapest option at just over $1 million.Lehighton has been working with Trane Comprehensive Solutions on a guaranteed energy savings, or ESCO, project for the HVAC component but hasn't decided between a water-source heat pump system and a more traditional, and cheaper, four-pipe chiller boiler system.According to a presentation by Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver on Monday, two potential total project estimates are:• $30.48 million with a water-source heat pump from Trane• $26.9 million with a four-pipe chiller boiler system from Trane.Cleaver said an earlier water-source heat pump estimate from Trane, when the project design was 75 percent complete, would have put the project at $25.5 million.While all three estimates include the selection of all alternates, that isn't what the district is recommending.Alternates for the middle school total $900,840, but Cleaver said only four of them are immediate priorities. They include science casework replacement ($133,120); a new paging, clock and phone system ($100,872); new auditorium seating ($144,000); and auditorium lighting, sound and screen improvements ($175,899)."The casework replacement is a direct impact to the students and that is why we listed it most important," Cleaver said. "The new paging, phone and clock system is a must-do. We can't get parts for it anymore. The clocks are never working in the building. Auditorium seating is a lot of the same thing. We can't get parts to fix them anymore. These new seats are a better quality."Other alternates include lighting, sound and screen improvements in the auditorium; stage rigging replacement; IDF closet rough-ins; locker replacement; and an exterior dining patio.Alternates for the high school total just under $2 million and the district hopes to do the top two or three items on the list. They include a wrestling room/fitness addition ($577,985); a new paging, phone and clock system ($69,274); and renovations to the administration and guidance area ($361,116)."It's important to remember that we wouldn't just be adding a wrestling room," Lehighton business manager Brian Feick said. "The cheerleaders can use the area to work out during evenings in the fall and as an alternative gymnasium during the day."Other alternates at the high school include the metal roof alterations, a snow guard replacement on the roof, auditorium acoustical improvements and select flooring replacement.The bids are valid for 60 days from the time of receipt, which was July 29.Lehighton meets again Monday for another board workshop.