The Austin School Board unanimously approved bids for two facility improvement projects Monday that officials estimate will be done before the 2009-2010 school year.

The board awarded a $445,795 bid to Malo Roofing of Owatonna to replace roofs above the Ellis Middle School gym and at the Austin High School Annex Building and awarded a $305,000 bid to Wagner Construction of Austin to replace the freight elevator, also located at the Austin High School Annex.

Mat Miller, director of facility services for Austin Public Schools, said the roofs at Ellis and the Annex are leaking and are in need of replacing.

“When we get rainstorms, we definitely notice some leaks, but it doesn’t create safety concerns,” he said.

Miller said the Annex project will begin in May or June and should be completed by June 30, while the Ellis project should start around July 1 and be completed by the middle of August.

As for the freight elevator, Miller said the district is being required by the state to replace it because of a new code that addresses environmental contamination concerns. Miller said the current freight elevator, used to transport deliveries such as food products, wrestling mats and paper to the basement storage facility, is 50 years old and features a hydraulic cylinder that goes underground. Miller said the state’s concern is that if that cylinder leaks, there’s potential for hydraulic fluid to leak into the ground.

The new elevator would feature the cylinder on the side of the elevator.

Miller said the elevator project is expected to begin after school gets out and should be completed by the middle of August.