Alternative plan offered
The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), formed to protest the Uniontown Area High School project, presented its own building plans to about 20 concerned citizens Thursday night. The plans call for adding four classroom towers and two stories to a hallway that would connect the 1910-11 section of the building to two of the towers and the auditorium.
Two of the classroom towers – labeled the “Wilson Avenue Tower” and the “Back Tower” – are proposed for the rear of the building. One would provide a wrestling room, nine classrooms on the top three floors and a classroom on the 100 level. The other would provide expansion of the kitchen on the 100 level plus three classrooms on the top three levels.
The other two classroom towers – labeled the “Fayette Street Tower” and the “Courtyard Tower” – would add 12 classrooms plus handicapped access to the auditorium balcony. One is proposed for the vacant courtyard space at the center of the school and the other for the open space at the front of the building.
The plans would utilize the entire building, including the 1910-11 section.
At the beginning of this month, the school board gave school district architect Mark Altman the go-ahead to proceed with a high school project that cuts costs to around the target mark of $35 million. A concept to convert the 1910-11 section of the high school into a district middle school has been laid on the table for future consideration.
The Rev. Peter Malik, co-chair of the CAC, called the proposal to use the 1910-11 section as a district middle school “a red herring” to fool the public, claiming the section will be cut off from the high school, sit vacant and deteriorate.
Regarding the committee’s plans, committee member Steve Gavorchik said the high school project can be done a lot cheaper than what the board is saying.
Committee members said other school districts have built schools for much less money than what has been proposed for the high school. Committee member Herbert Margolis said he spoke to a Pittsburgh contractor who said the high school could be renovated for $15 million.
“It was a big mistake to borrow $30 million to do something with this high school,” said Margolis.
Committee member Darrin DeCarlo said the Mount Lebanon School District garnered extensive public input into their high school renovation project, hired an educational facility planner and is forming recommendations based on data and taxpayer input. They had one public meeting just to discuss what the athletic facilities and computer lab should look like, he said.
“We went the exact opposite way,” said DeCarlo. “We got an architect, he told us what we need and gave us a figure.”
He shot down the idea of savings occurring from the attrition of teachers. Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky previously reported the district could save $450,000 to $600,000 per year with the closing of Central School and the Iowa Street Kindergarten Center.
The closings fall under a proposal to convert the high school’s old section into a district middle school, leading to staff reductions and consolidation of programs and buildings.
According to DeCarlo, $600,000 will not be saved. The attrition of 10 teachers will take over 30 years to occur, he said. “It’s not only 10 (teachers), but 10 in specific positions they call duplicate programs,” DeCarlo said. Two teachers he knows have been teaching for less than 10 years. “So, it would be 20 to 25 years before one of them retires,” he said. “There are more examples of that. That’s just one of them.”
At the meeting’s start, CAC Chairman Ron Machesky announced his candidacy for magisterial district judge, not school board in the upcoming primary election. But Machesky said he wants to retain his chairmanship on the CAC.
He said the CAC is looking at having a strong suit of candidates, and he believes some capable people have decided to run to serve the district.
Machesky said while making his rounds, gaining signatures for his nominating petition, he has spoken to hundreds of people in the community that are 100 percent supportive of the CAC efforts.
“So don’t let anyone discourage you by saying this is a small group and not the voice of the community,” said Machesky. “Three hundred voices are saying they agree with what we’re doing.”