Lewiston construction company Kenaston Corp., which was operating jointly with Spokane company Leone & Keeble, appears to be out as the contractor to build the new Lewiston High School.

The Lewiston School Board recently received a letter indicating Leone & Keeble had gone through a restructuring and was withdrawing from the $59.8 million project, according to Lewiston Superintendent Bob Donaldson. Leone & Keeble had submitted its proposal jointly with Kenaston, with the two operating as one entity for the purposes of the project.

The board is scheduled to vote on accepting the request to withdraw during its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

The school district had a contract with the joint entity for pre-bond and pre-construction services, including working with the architect on cost estimates and design development.

Representatives from Leone & Keeble and Kenaston worked with district architects from Leatham-Krohn-Van Ocker Architects in Boise and RGU Architecture of Lewiston leading up to the bond election in November, when Lewiston School District voters approved the project, with more than 75 percent in favor.

District officials were set to sign another contract with Leone & Keeble and Kenaston for construction services, Assistant Superintendent Lance Hansen said.

Instead, the school board is expected to approve entering into negotiations with Beniton Construction of Meridian, Idaho, on Monday. Beniton was ranked second among companies that submitted proposals before the bond. Keeping subcontractors local as much as possible was a priority for all the companies the board considered, including Beniton, Donaldson said.

School district officials declined to speculate about whether Kenaston would seek a partnership with Beniton. Calls to Kenaston Corp. were not returned to the Tribune on Friday.

The change in contractor is not expected to affect the timeline for constructing the school, which is slated to be ready for use in fall 2020. Groundbreaking had been tentatively scheduled for the spring.

"We're actually looking at being ahead of our original schedule," Donaldson said. "We could actually start moving dirt in February, weather depending."

He said he anticipates a smooth transition from one construction company to the other.

"Our relationship with Leone & Keeble moving through this whole process has been just really positive, supportive," Donaldson said. "Their work was invaluable to get to where we are now. And Beniton is going to be able to pick that up and move forward without missing a beat."

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Stone may be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.