Though the fate of Pine Forge Elementary School has yet to be determined, the building has been removed from the Elementary Air Conditioning Project following an 8-1 vote on Tuesday, April 11.
The bids for the Elementary AC project were received on March 23. The base bid includes the cost of classroom air-conditioning to Colebrookdale Elementary, Earl Elementary, Pine Forge Elementary, and Washington Elementary. In addition, a deduct alternate which removes Pine Forge Elementary from the project was included in the bids.
The base bid, with all four schools included, is $2,549,000. The removal of Pine Forge Elementary from the project bid would take away $641,618 and bring the total bid price of the deduct alternate to $1,907,382.
The administration recommended the contractor be awarded the bid with the deduct alternate.
Chief Student Achievement Officer Greg Miller said air conditioning for Pine Forge Elementary can come back on the table at any time but in order to maintain the AC project timeline, a decision needs to be made.
“I do think it is prudent of us to defer this situation until we do know what we’re doing,” said Board President John Landino prior to the board vote, adding how he can’t imagine what the community would think if the board put air conditioning in Pine Forge and then closed the building months later. “It can be brought back on the table if we decide it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think we should hold up these other schools to make a decision.”
Landino added that the decision to close Pine Forge Elementary should not be rushed.
Board member Robert Caso asked, if the alternate were to be approved, if there was something that would be done for Pine Forge in the interim on hot days.
Board member Christine Neiman voted against the recommendation, stating beforehand “If we put this off now and we don’t pay for it, it will probably cost more when we do it.” She added she would not support the construction of a new elementary school if Pine Fore Elementary were to close.
Following the approval of the bid to contractor Heisey Mechanical Ltd., the board also approved the transfer of $2.3 million from the Capital Projects Fund to the Elementary HVAC Fund. Miller explained that $2.3 million is the full cost of the project with soft costs and engineering costs are included.
The installation of air conditioning to Colebrookdale Elementary, Earl Elementary, and Washington Elementary is expected to begin in June and reach completion by the 2017-18 school year.
The plan to implement air-conditioning in the elementary school buildings was presented to the board back in October. That same month, the board approved contracts for a construction management company and an engineering firm to pursue the project.
