Lincoln County School Board members were stunned Monday whenthey were told roof repairs to an Enterprise Attendance Centerbuilding would cost nearly $150,000.

“This is a hard pill to swallow, I can tell you that,” saidSuperintendent Terry Brister. “This is probably what we are goingto do. We have 12 classrooms and a cafeteria we have to cover orwe’re going to lose them.”

The lowest bid on the project came in at $148,215 to repair theroof and stop the leaking, Brister said. It would require a majorrenovation to put a new roof on the building.

“The structure will not hold another roof,” Brister said. “Itwill a major ordeal no matter which way we go.”

To place a new roof on the structure, Brister said, supportcolumns would have to be placed inside the existing hallwaywalls.

The winning bid contract would instead use space-age technologyand material to coat the roof and make other repairs to prevent anyfurther leaks. The material has a 10-year warranty.

The roof was on a list of projects to be completed during thecourse of the year, but the roof’s sudden and rapid deteriorationmade it necessary to react quickly, Brister said.

The board was informed in late July that the roof on an oldbuilding housing offices, classrooms and the cafeteria neededimmediate attention and declared it as an emergency.

The emergency declaration allowed board members to circumventthe normal construction process, which requires weeks ofadvertising for bids before a contract can be awarded for thework.