Bids for construction of a new high school on the campus of the existing Bethel Park facility were awarded at a special meeting last night, arriving $17 million less than projected.

Total cost of the awarded bids to Mascaro Construction was $73,312,745. Bids did not include expenses such as fixtures and furniture or technology, or costs such as engineering fees and site work. But the bids did include demolition of the current eight- building high school once the new single-building school is built.

In January, an Act 34 information package estimated construction bids in the neighborhood of $85 million. Bids were opened Aug. 4, when base bids totaled $70,594,955. School district directors had removed several alternate items -- including the addition of two tennis courts and lighting for that particular athletic venue and a television studio -- when it put the project out to bid. They were able to restore some of the items when the returned bids were lower than expected.

The school board vote was 9-0 to award the construction bids. The project has a cap of $98 million.

"Since January of this year, we have seen a trend across the state where construction costs are coming in at 15 to 20 percent below estimates, and were hopeful that our project would continue that trend," Superintendent Thomas Knight said.