Ringgold ready to advance middle school project
Holly Tonini
Despite the state’s budget impasse, directors at Ringgold School District are proceeding with construction of a 150,000 square foot middle school.
Ringgold School District is moving forward with construction of a new middle school.
Holly Tonini
Superintendent Dr. Karen Polkabla said Ringgold School District implemented several strategies which increased its Student Performance Profile score by 8.1 points in the 2014-15 school year
When bids are advertised Feb. 10 for construction of the new Ringgold Middle School, it will signal that the district is proceeding with the new 150,000 square foot building, with or without a new state budget.
The first construction on the project will begin in the spring, even if the state budget is not approved.
“At this point, we don’t expect it to impact the construction at all,” board president Bill Stein said of the budget impasse.
“We never expected to get PlanCon funds early.”
Planning and Construction Workbook, known as PlanCon, is the multi-step procedure used by school districts to apply for state reimbursement of capital projects.
Stein said Ringgold submitted its construction plan and received state approval early in the process. Because there were so many projects statewide seeking PlanCon funding, Ringgold officials felt the need be ahead in the process.
“We will get reimbursed,” Ringgold Business Manager Randy Skrinjorich said. “It’s just a matter of waiting for it.”
So Ringgold is moving ahead with the construction plans, and quickly.
After the bids are reviewed by architect HHSDR and the administration, the contract will be awarded within a few weeks, Stein said. Skrinjorich said if all falls into place, bids will be awarded by the school board at its March 16 meeting.
“It’s going to happen very quickly,” Stein said.
The new middle school would replace the current Ringgold Middle School, formerly Finley Middle School. For years, the school has shifted slightly due to pyrite beneath the structure.
Donora and Monongahela elementary centers were closed at the end of the 2010-11 school year.
At one time, the Ringgold School Board was considering a plan to reopen the buildings and renovate them for use as middle schools.
The board ultimately decided to pursue construction of a new middle school at the Carroll Township site where the high school is located.
“It would have been significant cheaper if we had come to a decision (to construct a new) years ago,” Stein said.
The project, projected by the district at $42,887,249, is eligible for $7,821,276 in state reimbursements.
The school will contain a 625-seat auditorium and an access road that encircles the entire Carroll Township campus where the high school is also located.
The school is on schedule to open for the first day of class in August 2017.
“This project is going ahead,” Stein said. “We had always budgeted for the worst case scenario.”