Aug 19, 2005 By Jenny Susa 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Area School District’s Board of Directors is getting ready to approve the demolition of the old Redstone Middle School so that it can later build a new elementary complex in it’s place. Although architect Michael Molnar suggested waiting to go through the planning process for the new complex in order to get a greater reimbursement for the demolition project, the board authorized the administration to solicit bids for demolition right away.

Board members said they have discussed financial options for this project at length, and even though going through the steps of planning a new building could get them an extra $200,000 in reimbursement, they believe they have waiting long enough to remove the old building.

“We have waited for a long time to get this eyesore out of the way,” said director Andy Dorsey.

President Rocky Brashear said that the building is not only unsightly, but it is in such disrepair that it could be a safety hazard.

“That building is a liability to the district,” said Brashear. “Whatever the cost is, as long as it’s feasible, we need to do get rid of it now.”

Director Nena Kaminsky pointed out that the board has already agreed several times to demolish the building and said they need to “get the job done.”

The board voted to authorize Arthurs, Lestrange & Co. to develop a bond issue in the amount of $10 million to pay for the demolition of the old building.

The planning and estimated cost for the new elementary complex will be determined at a later date.

The board also approved several change orders for the high school and middle school complex renovation project, which superintendent Larry Golembiewski said should have been included on the original plans but were overlooked. The total cost of the changes was over $83,000 and Kaminsky voted against all of the change orders because she said the district should not have to absorb the additional cost when the items should have been on the original plans.

Dorsey said that he felt that some of them should have been in the original plans, but most projects involve change orders.

“For almost any project there will be continuous change orders,” said Dorsey. “Some of these are valid.”

Directors Dorsey, Brashear, John Evans, Francine Pavone, Roseanne Markovich and Ellen Rohrer voted in favor of the change orders. Directors Stella Broadwater and Sandra Chan were absent.

In other matters, the board voted to never hire district employees as coaches because of new legislation that would require individuals who work as both to be paid time and a half while coaching.

Kaminsky commented that while she knew some employees were good coaches, the district could not afford to pay time and a half.

“We don’t want to run into any problems with hours,” said Kaminsky. “We can’t pay anybody time and a half.”

In other business, the board appointed Frank Berdar as acting assistant principal, and appointed Vincent Nesser as middle school principal. They also hired Brandee Chrobak as full-time librarian at Cardale Elementary.

The board also voted to renew the district’s contracts with Nutrition Inc., Schneider’s Dairy and Fike’s Dairy.