The Mt. Lebanon school board has taken another step forward with major plans to renovate and add on to the high school.

The board Monday voted 6-3 to approve a resolution to hold an Act 34 public hearing Feb. 22. The resolution sets a maximum total project cost of $113.3 million.

A 14 percent hike in the school district property tax rate - from 24.11 mills to 27.52 mills - has been proposed to help pay for the project and meet other district obligations.

School directors Mary D. Birks, Elaine Cappucci, Edward Kubit, Josephine Posti, Daniel Remely and Susan Rose voted in favor of the resolution. James Fraasch, Faith Ann Stipanovich and Dale Ostergaard dissented.

The vote attracted the attention of so many Mt. Lebanon residents that the meeting was moved from its regular location in the high school library to the larger quarters in the Fine Arts Theatre to accommodate the more than 100 residents who attended.

Many who spoke expressed worry over the cost of the project for taxpayers. But others urged the board to move forward with the plan that has been two years in the making.

Much of the attention surrounding the meeting was spurred by a memo circulated by Mr. Fraasch following a board meeting last month when district finance director Janice Klein announced the preliminary $80.7 million budget, which includes the estimated 14 percent increase in the property tax rate to support the base budget, pension responsibility increases as well as the high school project costs.

Under the current 24.11-mill tax rate, a property valued at $100,000 has a tax bill of $2,411, and a property valued at $200,000has a bill of $4,822.

Mr. Kubit, board president, said a huge volume of e-mail was sent to the board during the past week. People have real fears of losing their homes in the face of a property tax increase, he said.

Still, some at the meeting said improvements had to be made to the high school.

Board members agreed that $113 million was a high number, and though it was established as the maximum project cost, they said they hoped to complete the project at a lower cost.

Mr. Remely gave some examples of where the district may see reductions in costs and said he wanted the project to come in at $95 million or less.

"We want to do the best job we can for the least amount of money," he said.

Several people at the meeting said they could no longer afford to live in Mt. Lebanon if the tax increase took effect. Many residents urged the district to scale back on the project in light of poor economic conditions that did not exist at the beginning of the planning process.

Using a coffee shop analogy, resident Tom Moertel asked the school board to "accept the reality of our financial present" and take the planned project from a "triple latte renovation" to a "double latte renovation."

"That building is beyond what we can reasonably afford now," he said.

But other residents, such as Elaine Labalme, said the high school, which was built in 1928 and underwent its most recent renovation 30 years ago, must be upgraded.

"We cannot afford to wait any longer," she said.

Mt. Lebanon residents will have another chance to give their opinion about the project at the ACT 34 hearing at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 in the high school's Fine Arts Theatre.

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