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HANNIBAL, MO. -- UPDATE: January 3 at 4:45 p.m.

Hannibal school administrators continue to crunch numbers for two new schools in the district.

They've received a number of bids to build a new Mark Twain Elementary and Early Childhood Center, but they aren't sure whether to use one contractor or several.

The district has to work with a $13-million budget, that's to be divided among all of its projects.

"I think the bids were all very reasonable. They were very similar which lets us know it was a fair price. Overall, they came pretty close to the amount of money we had for the bond issue. We may have to trim back a bit from other places, but I think we'll be able to complete all the projects we've asked for," said Jill Janes.

The school board expects to award bids at its upcoming meeting on January 19.

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Story courtesy of the Hannibal Courier-Post

Bids for two major Hannibal school projects came in a bit higher than anticipated, but the final bill may be close to projections.

The next step is for administrators to crunch the numbers and come up with a package that fits the budget. Voters last April approved a $13 million bond issue for work around the district.

The two biggest projects are construction of a new Mark Twain Elementary and an Early Childhood Center.

However, the 12 regional contractors who submitted bids were allowed to make estimates on whole projects or individual jobs.

And, in some cases, there was wide disparity between bids for the same listing.

There¹s wiggle room in the bid structure, so a decision will depend upon how the district pairs up the major work with the alternate projects.

The school board likely would hold a special meeting in early January to award bids.