The Gateway school board Tuesday allocated $3.8 million to pay for repairs and improvements at district schools.
The work will include a new roof on Ramsey Elementary; new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems at University Park Elementary and Gateway High School; lighting upgrades at the high school, Cleveland Steward Elementary and Ramsey; and water conservation measures at Evergreen Elementary, Ramsey, Cleveland Steward and the high school.
The projects are to begin in June 2017 and be finished by the start of the 2017-18 school year.
Bids will be sought for some of the projects, such as the HVAC systems, while others, such as the lighting upgrades, will be completed by district maintenance staff, said district facilities director Bob Brown.
“We have to move forward” with the repairs and maintenance, Mr. Brown said. “At this point, our other option was voted down.”
In October, the board voted 5-4 against having ABM Building Solutions look at ways the district could save on energy costs.
Board member Mary Beth Cirucci, who voted to hire ABM in October, said she did not see the district saving money by “piecemealing” together the projects.
“We will have no guaranteed savings,” she said. “My prediction is we will not save money.”
The vote to allocate the money for the projects was 7-2, with Neal Nola, Stephanie Byrne, George Lapcevich, Steve O’Donnell, Valerie Warning, John Ritter and Scott Williams in favor. Chad Stubenbort and Mary Beth Cirucci dissented.
Included in the $3.8 million is an estimated $222,000 for staff and consultants related to the projects, including $24,000 for a water consultant, $24,000 for a lighting engineer, $84,000 for nondistrict labor, $49,000 for architectural services and $41,000 for project support staff.
Also at the meeting, Mr. Williams and Ms. Warning were elected president and vice president of the board, replacing Mr. Stubenbort and Mr. Nola, respectively.
The vote to elect Mr. Williams president was 5-4, with Ms. Byrne, Mr. O’Donnell, Mr. Lapcevich, Ms. Warning and Mr. Williams in favor.
Mr. Stubenbort, Mr. Nola and Ms. Cirucci voted for Mr. Nola to be president, and Mr. Ritter voted for himself.
Deana Carpenter, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: December 9, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
