A Lee County School Board action is expected to be made in either April or May regarding a general contractor and team for the new Hector Cafferata K-8 school in Cape Coral.

Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said the school, which will be a new build, is currently in the “cone of silence” phase.

Information has been sent to procurement to make its final decision on the general contractor and team with the hope it will come before the school board the second meeting in April.

On Feb. 14, the release of the invitation to negotiate was made, followed by a mandatory pre-proposal meeting on Feb. 28. On March 6 written questions due to the procurement services department were made and on March 20 proposals were due. On March 28 the evaluation committee meeting to review and score the written proposals with optional interviews scheduled on April 4.

The new school will be at 214 N.W. 20th Ave.

The former campus at 360 Santa Barbara Blvd. N. sustained significant damage from Hurricane Ian as the school had torrential rain inside the building for 12 to 15 hours due to severe roof damage. The damage far exceeded FEMA’s 50 percent rule, the point at which a rebuild to current codes, elevations and other standards is required.

The students, once school resumed, were reassigned among campuses before they were moved to portables on the Cape Coral Technical College campus, where they will remain until their new school, a K-8 facility, is constructed.