School board votes to move forward with project
The Uniontown Area School Board voted 6-3 Monday to move forward with the Marclay School project putting the new school construction out for bid after six months of debate regarding high initial bids for the elementary building. The motion was approved after district architect Mark Altman told the board that despite a motion last month to have two bids placed for the school – one with a sprinkler system and one without – was not admissible by the department of Labor and Industry. Altman said only one set of specifications could be submitted for bid for the project.
Finance committee chairman William Rittenhouse told the board that even with the sprinkler system removed from the proposal, the school is still about $250,000 over the original loan to pay for the building, an overage Rittenhouse said is another in a long line of frivolous spending.
“Where are you going to get the money for this guys,” Rittenhouse questioned the broad. “I mean we are talking about a quarter million. We can’t continue to spend more than we have borrowed. It’s just economics…the record we have a board isn’t cutting but spending.”
But Directors Susan Clay and Charles Castor said the Marclay project has been put on the back burner for four years and Director Ron Machesky made a motion to move forward with the bids, sprinkler included, and borrow the needed funds to complete the project from the high school project fund.
The board initially had to re-bid the Marclay School project since bids received were at least 30 percent higher than projected.
The removal of the sprinkler system was estimated to save the district about $80,000.
The Marclay School project includes the demolition of the existing school, which is in general disrepair. A new building is scheduled for construction at the same location.
Last month, Altman told the directors that the new plans for the school, including using different materials for the roof and changes to the heating and ventilation system, should reduce the overages and said that reducing the grading area for the new facility as well as a smaller parking lot will also cut the cost by about $100,000.
Altman said that the project should be awarded in the spring and that once construction begins, it should take about one year to complete the new building.
He added that students will continue to use the existing school while the new school is built.
The school project has been on the table for the district for about three years after the building was found to be in disrepair in 2001. The district initially considered moving the students to A.J. McMullen School and creating a K-8 facility, but the idea was squelched by outcry from Markleysburg residents opposed to the initiative.
The board adjourned to an executive session to discuss a confidential student matter.
Prior to their regular meeting Monday, the board re-elected Harry “Dutch” Kaufman as board president during their annual reorganization meeting, marking the 10th year he has served as the board chair.
Director Ken Meadows was re-elected as vice president for an eighth consecutive term.
The board also retained the services of Michael Brungo, of Maiello, Bringo and Maiello, Attorneys at Law, as the district’s solicitor.
The board will meet for work sessions the Tuesday immediately preceding the third Monday of each month in the coming year and will hold regular meetings the third Tuesday of January and February and the third Monday March – November.
All the meetings will be held in the high school band room at 6:30 p.m.