The first construction work on a replacement for the aging George Wythe High School could begin by late summer.

Richmond Public Schools last week posted a request for bids for initial site work for the school to be built on the grounds of Wythe in the 4300 block of Crutchfield Avenue in South Side.

RPS planned to replace the high school since 2021, only to be delayed when Mayor Levar M. Stoney and City Council refused to transfer funds to enable design work to proceed. Despite shrinkage in enrollment at the secondary level, RPS was forced to agree to the council’s demand to build the school for 1,800 students before the money was released.

The initial work, according to the May 1 posting, will involve removing, relocating and replacing a 72-inch storm New water line with an 84-inch line, providing temporary stormwater draining, replacing existing sewage lines and clearing and grading the site.

Bids are due by 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 31, according to Melissa Chasteen, interim RPS procurement and property management director.

At the same time, according to Superintendent Jason Kamras, the final designs for this initial work are to be submitted to the city for approval, along with results of soil boring tests. That approval is a last hurdle to starting this crucial preliminary work.

Mr. Kamras told the School Board that the contractor should be selected in June, and a contract awarded after city dollars supporting the work arrive July 1 when the 2023-24 fiscal year begins, certainly allowing the winning bidder to begin work within 30 to 40 days.

City Hall, with City Council’s approval, plans to provide $200 million through the Capital Improvement Budget for new school construction in the new fiscal year, plus an additional $15 million to cover a major part of the cost of rebuilding William Fox Elementary School in The Fan.

RPS has projected the replacement high school will cost around $155 million and would open by September 2027.