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Local and minority-owned businesses wanting to bid on building projects for the Racine Unified School District are invited to attend a workshop that will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 18 at Wheaton Franciscan All Saints, 3834 Spring Street. Residents of the Racine Unified School District gave district leaders in November the go ahead to plan and pay for $128 million in maintenance and repairs through a 15-year referendum. Schools located in the Villages of Mount Pleasant, Caledonia and Sturtevant would get $39 million worth of improvements, including almost $14 million at Case High School and an addition at Gifford Elementary to expand it to a K – 8 school. The school district is partnering with local organizations and trades to host the work shop, which will inform contractors how the bidding process will work. “The first priority is to build and maintain high-quality learning environments for our students,” said RUSD chief operating officer Dave Hazen. “We are also committed to doing our best to keep the jobs local and provide opportunities for minority contractors.” Riley Construction, the First Choice Pre-Apprenticeship Program and Cross Management Service Inc. will outline what the upcoming projects are, how local and minority-owned contractors can participate, and how they can receive a minority business enterprise certification. Racine Unified hired Riley Construction as the construction manager for the new Knapp and Olympia Brown elementary schools and the addition project for Gifford Elementary. The contract calls for Riley Construction to have: “a local participation goal of 50 percent of labor hours, 20 percent ethnic minority labor hours and 10 percent ethnic minority contractors with a monthly reporting by the construction manager on these goals,” according to a press release by the school district. IF YOU GO What: Workshop Event for Local and Minority Contractor When: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 18 Where: Wheaton Franciscan All Saints – Auditorium, 3834 Spring St., in the St. Luke’s Health Pavilion.    

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In addition to our education features, we’ll be kicking off a series of stories highlighting how parents, students, and educators are adapting to the impact of COVID-19 on education. If this is important to you, please consider donating to our education reporting fund. https://business.facebook.com/donate/1846323118855149/3262802717172659/

Denise Lockwood has an extensive background in traditional and non-traditional media. She has written for Patch.com, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine and the Kenosha News.