NATCHEZ — Susie B. West Elementary School teachers and students will have to wait until as long as the end of September before classroom overcrowding issues are solved.

Though two portable classrooms have been purchased, it will be at least 60 days until they are installed on the campus, said Natchez-Adams School District Interim Superintendent Fred Butcher. Until the buildings projected to cost $209,213 are in place, Butcher said the district would have to continue to make do.

“We will have to do what we have been doing all along — we will be in a make-shift situation,” Butcher said. “We might have to have some classes on the stage in the gym.”

West has a projected enrollment of approximately of 320 to 350 students, Butcher said.

District Operations Manager Larnell Ford reported to the school board May 17 that even if the district started the bidding process that day, it would be late into September before the classrooms were ready for occupancy. He urged the board to start the bidding process then, but trustees delayed until the June meeting.

Ford said the district has made good time on getting bids and he projects the district can still hit the late September deadline, but that’s almost two months after students report to school on Aug. 8.

“If it went into October, it wouldn’t be very far into the month,” he said.

The buildings would house two classrooms for up to 60 students and also a computer lab. Computers for the classrooms have already been purchased.

The school board received two bids on the project, and the lowest bid came in at $249,781. However, Ford was able to negotiate the lowest bidder, Sustainable Modular Management, down to $209,213 by offering for the district’s maintenance department to complete some of the work.

“That work includes installing a sidewalk to the modular building, providing countertops, installing decking and installing a canopy,” Butcher said. “Our maintenance crew is able to perform those tasks and the work would be more cost efficient.”

Despite the negotiation, the bid is still over the $200,000 budget set aside for the project.

One trustee, Thelma Newsome, cited financial concerns when the matter was tabled in May. However, the board ultimately voted to accept the negotiated bid and start the process without comment in July.