The Austin Public Schools board took a key step on Friday toward summer renovations planned at Ellis Middle School and Southgate Elementary School.

The board accepted a $737,700 bid from the Joseph Company for the project to create flexible team learning centers at Ellis and Southgate. The bid came in about $100,000 below the district’s budget, according to Finance and Operations Director Mark Stotts. The extra money will go into the district’s contingency fund.

“You never know what you’re going to run into in a renovation project like that,” Stotts said.

According to Stotts, this bid was just for the construction aspect of the projects. The district has a separate fund for other costs.

Ellis Middle School will convert four classrooms to make the sort of flexible learning centers that are found in I.J. Holton Intermediate School. These will be used by the Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science content areas.

Southgate Elementary School will convert restrooms, a locker room, custodial areas and a classroom into a flexible learning area. This will include a team learning area, small group spaces and a classroom.

The projects should be finished before the 2014-2015 school year.