When the architects from L. Robert Kimball & Associates read off the estimates of $83 million to $132 million, they looked to see if any Bethel Park school board members had fallen off their chairs.

Nobody did, but that didn't mean members were ready to sign on for the huge building plan, which could include a new high school and the consolidation of elementary schools.

At a facilities committee meeting May 31, Ryan Pierce, operations manager, and Peter Szymanski, project architect with Kimball, gave the board a host of options for its district building plan. The results of its master plan/districtwide feasibility study gave estimates for several courses of action, but the firm stopped short of giving its recommendation.

Board members were quick to say they had just received their unabridged dictionary-size binders, which contained the report, and that the process is so preliminary they don't even have a timeline.

The study was "to get us started on the road to making some decisions," board member Richard Rose said. In addition to Mr. Rose, board members David Amaditz, Donna Cook and Charles Scheuble were the only members in attendance.

Mr. Rose also seemed concerned that people would panic and think the suggestions necessarily meant school buildings would be closed. He said it was too early to make those predictions.

But what bubbled to the surface seemed to be two facts: The district has to get rid of modular classrooms at several of the elementary schools, and something has to be done with the high school, where students have to travel between campus buildings in bad weather and where security and accessibility are among a host of concerns.

Board members also were concerned about parity -- that pupils at each elementary would have similar facilities and learning opportunities.

Leonard Corazzi, district director of finance and operations, said the district would be permitted to carry $125 million in debt next year. The district currently has $16 million in debt, he said. It is too early to tell what impact the building plan will have on taxes, he said.

Kimball laid out several combined cost scenarios, the most expensive of which calls for a new $74 million high school built on the current campus on land which is currently athletic fields. The current high school would be demolished and the fields rebuilt on that land. The plan also would leave grades K-4 at each elementary school, possibly close William Penn Elementary, consolidate elementary schools and renovate those left. Small additions and renovations would be added to Neil Armstrong Middle School and renovations would be made to Independence Middle School. The price tag was $132 million, but it could be reduced by $12 million in anticipated reimbursement from the state.

The cheapest combination plan would call for renovations to the high school for $35 million, leaving K-4 at the elementary schools and making limited renovations, possibly closing William Penn and consolidating, and making renovations at Neil Armstrong and Independence middle schools, for a total price of $83 million with $12 million in anticipated state reimbursement.

But the firm did not like that plan.

"There is a way to get to $70 million, but it's probably not going to leave anybody satisfied at the end of the day," Mr. Pierce said.

He said that option, especially with its provisions for the high school, was only a bandage approach, wouldn't address curriculum issues, wouldn't address space, wouldn't make the school more efficient or help with capacity or add value.

"And the end of the day, it may be all you can do," Mr. Pierce said. "Its only real advantage is it's inexpensive compared with the other options."

In between those ideas were other combinations of plans for prices between the two extremes, but all call for leaving the fourth grade at the elementary schools instead of moving it to Neil Armstrong Middle School, as previously investigated.

Mr. Pierce said that, while they would have to build additions to the elementary schools in most cases in order to fit in all pupils, it wouldn't be any cheaper to move them out because an equal amount of work would have to be done at Neil Armstrong to fit pupils there.

He said the estimates were averages of the economy jobs and top quality jobs, and that the prices would be good for the next year. But, he said, after that, the district could expect 7 percent to 10 percent increases each year.

Board members seemed to perk up when they learned a new high school could cost slightly less or close to the cost of renovating the existing buildings, especially because, the architects said, the district could save a lot of operating costs by building new and that money could be used for the debt service.

A new high school could cost $74 million, but renovating some of the buildings and demolishing others could cost $78 million. The cheapest high school plan, at $41 million, calls for some renovations and covered walkways, although that figure was whittled to $35 million for one of the combination plans presented. Other plans for the high school ranged from $61 million to $69 million.

Superintendent Thomas Knight asked the firm to provide figures for some of those operational savings.

The board's next step is to give input to Kimball, which would generate a recommended plan. Schedules would follow.