The Bethel Park school board could finally vote to get rid of three deteriorating modular classroom buildings at its elementary schools and complete critical repair work and upgrades at district buildings as part of a $5.8 million project.

At its agenda committee meeting last night, the board agreed to move the projects to the agenda for its Nov. 29 meeting.

"We can get these jobs done this summer," said board member Richard Rose, chairman of the facilities committee.

He initially asked the board to consider only the repair work and to wait on the modular classroom replacement, believing the district's overall building plan, which some estimates put at more than $100 million, was the priority. He later agreed to consider the elimination of the modular classrooms, as did several other board members with the same concerns.

At issue are the 7-year-old mobile trailers at Memorial, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin elementary schools. The proposed plan calls for construction of four classrooms at Memorial and Lincoln elementary schools and a reconfiguration at Franklin Elementary School to replace the trailers.

Replacing them would require a minor redistricting, but the grade configuration would be kept at the current kindergarten through fourth-grade setup. Class sizes would be kept to 22 to 23 pupils per class.

"These problems aren't going to get better," said board member Daniel Duff. "They're still going to be trailers. The trailers gotta go."

Also on the table and included in the project total is $3.2 million in repairs to the schools, including roof replacements at Lincoln, Memorial and William Penn elementary schools, and lobby refurbishments at Independence Middle School and Washington Elementary School. Foundation drains are called for at Memorial, Franklin and Neil Armstrong Middle School and foundation repair is needed at Memorial. A gymnasium wall needs to be fixed at Franklin.

Mechanical upgrades at William Penn are also on the schedule, as is electrical work at Neil Armstrong.

The plans come from a district facilities report submitted by architects L. Robert Kimball & Associates, which lists hundreds of projects, repairs and upgrades.

But board members have long been concerned about the modular classrooms. Just last month, mold and water damage were discovered in the one at Memorial Elementary School. The district said damage has since been repaired, third-party air quality testing has been fine, and it is awaiting a final inspection and report from the Allegheny County Health Department.

Board member Charles Koch was absent. New member Ronald Sustich, whom the board appointed to fill the final year of the unexpired term of member Steve Regan who resigned in October for personal reasons, was seated at his first committee meeting.

All eight board members in attendance agreed to put the items on the agenda in order to be on time to have the work completed next year.