Open house was upbeat at the A.W. Beattie Career Center on Feb. 21 and not just because it represented an opportunity to show the vocational-technical school of the present.

It also offered a chance to preview the future, now that the first expansion and renovation in the school's nearly 40-year history has secured enough votes for approval.

After two years of discussion involving some half-dozen options, the school districts in the northern suburbs that make up the Beattie consortium approved spending $21.6 million to upgrade the school in McCandless.

The vote was 8-1, with Northgate opposed, its board believing that costs could be trimmed further.

The long-delayed project advances to final design by architect/engineer HHSDR, of Sharon, Mercer County, in the hope that construction can begin by spring 2009.

The project, which includes infrastructure renovation, new secure entry portals and a new wing for automotive programs, could be completed by the end of 2010.

Tracking votes on the project has unfolded much like those of the presidential primaries. At least six of the nine districts plus 41 of the 81 total board members had to vote for the project for it to be approved.

By the open house, Beattie officials had learned that Hampton and Fox Chapel Area -- two of four districts opposed to an earlier plan -- had changed gears, a turnaround likely to put the $21.6-million project over the top.

"We actually had a countdown sheet, a big poster that we made up," said Kathyrn Ingram, Beattie's executive director. "We kept tallies as they came in."

Beattie board member Arlene Bender recalled arriving at the open house, knowing that her own North Hills board had approved the project three days earlier but not knowing what all of the other districts had decided.

One look at Ms. Ingram and Scott Bossung, Beattie finance director, said it all.

"I walked in and they had the biggest smiles on their faces," Ms. Bender said. "When we found out about Fox Chapel [Area] and Hampton, we knew the votes were ready."

At the Beattie building committee meeting last Thursday, the sound of teachers firing off party poppers could be heard in the back of the hall.

"It just showed to me the joy that these people had," Ms. Bender said. "It's been a long, long road. What else can I tell you?"

The Beattie Joint Committee, the 18-member board made up of two board members each from Avonworth, Deer Lake, Fox Chapel Area, Hampton, Northgate, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richand and Shaler Area, then voted to submit the construction plan to the state Department of Education for review.

This is a critical step because reimbursement could reduce the total cost to the consortium by as much as 38 percent, Ms. Ingram said.

The next step will be to appoint bond counsel, which will advise Beattie on how to best raise some $20.6 million in bonds in what is a decidedly tough market.

Talk of the project began shortly after a November 2005 state audit raised several safety and crowding concerns, particularly involving the automotive programs. Project options ranging from about $9 million to $24 million were outlined.

The final version adds about 11,000 square feet to the 112,000-square-foot facility, including a 6,000-square-foot east wing for automotive programs and a separate garage and storage building.

A proposed 6,000-square-foot west wing for an expanded child day-care center and complementary early childhood education program was eliminated.

In addition, a multidistrict report undertaken by building managers identified ways to save as much as $500,000 by repairing or reusing parts of the infrastructure instead of replacing them.

The managers' review had been pushed by North Allegheny, Hampton and Fox Chapel Area, which also sought an independent review of the curriculum.

Once those studies were completed by mid-January, those districts gained confidence in the overall Beattie strategy.

"I think the thing that clinched the deal was when we got the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board study," said Ms. Ingram, because it showed that the school curriculum was on the right track.