The bidding process has begun for a long-planned renovation of Freeport High School starting this autumn.

Regional School Unit 5 directors have approved five of the 10 contractors that expressed interest in the work, which would be in the $12 million range. The project is expected to cost $14.6 million in total, including architects and other fees.

The school board accepted the recommendations of the Freeport High School Building Advisory Committee. PDT Architects of Portland released its drawings to the five companies last Thursday, so that the bidding process could get under way. Bids are due on Sept. 29. Work will begin with the demolition of the industrial arts wing of the school.

“The best way to control costs is to give contractors answers right away,” said Lyndon Keck, founding partner of PDT Architects.

Arthur C. Dudley Contractor Inc., which built Durham Community School prior to the formation of RSU 5, is one of the five contractors up for consideration. Others include JCN Construction Co., of Manchester, N.H.; Langford and Lowe, of Portland; Ledgewood Construction of South Portland; and Sheridan Corp. of Portland.

John Simoneau, chairman of the building committee, said that the committee studied bonding capacity, safety records and the capacity to do the job when considering the contractors.

Keck said five is a good number for a pool of contractors to consider.

“If we have five contractors who really want the job, we’ll have good competition,” he said. “Kathy Cahill, our project manager, has 165 pages of drawings and 2,000 pages of (specifications).”

The school board also chose a Freeport High School construction team, consisting of Superintendent Edward McDonough; Dennis Ouellette, RSU 5 director of facilities and transportation; Simoneau; and Kelly Wentworth, director of finance and human resources. The construction team will be in contact with the contractor and with Keck on a daily basis.

Earlier, the Freeport High School Building Advisory Committee met, and exchanged ideas on a new look for the school. Formation of an arts committee to “refresh the building” was discussed. Some members said that trophy cabinets have become obsolete in some schools, and Simoneau suggested the school might want to have only championship trophies on display.

Later in the school board meeting, the board approved of stipends of $1,502 for The Falcon Outlet, the school newspaper and two advisory coordinators who plan advisory periods and guidance for students; and $1,164 for an operations team that coordinates the lunch room, and other functions. Mike Lafortune, the outgoing co-superintendent, said that the Falcon Outlet has grown considerably, and wants to get more information out to the community through the Tri-Town Weekly.

The money for the stipends is already in the budget, Lafortune said.