By BRETT R. WHITLING
Staff writer
CLARION – Clarion Area School Board last week awarded $6,128,251 in contracts for renovations at the district elementary school.
The board discussed and voted on each alternate item set within the construction budget. In total, the board dismissed five alternate items from the construction plan, reducing the cost by $145,279.
Here is a rundown of the contracts:
– General construction: Thomas Construction out of Grove City – $3,833,020.
– Heating, ventilation and air conditioning: R&B Mechanical of Pittsburgh – $924,640.
– Plumbing construction: Renick Brothers of Slippery Rock – $418,689.
– Electrical construction: Penn-Ohio Electrical of Masury, Ohio – $888,440.
– Food service equipment: Commercial Appliance Contracts of Grove City – $301,972.
– Asbestos removal: Canfield Development of Pittsburgh – $34,900.
With minimal work being done on the building since it was built, district officials and the school board believe the elementary school is overdue for repair. Some of the major utilities and necessities like infrastructure and cafeteria equipment need to be repaired or replaced.
The school district plans to begin construction this month and have work completed in August 2018.
The action on the contracts came as the meeting was essentially a “closed-door” session. The main doors to the building automatically locked at 7:30 p.m., keeping the public from entering the building.
State open records and Sunshine Laws require voting on contracts be done in public. If an objection is raised, it is possible the votes taken after 7:30 p.m. that night could be deemed illegal, forcing the board to revote in public on the matters.
In other matters:
– Maintenance employee James “Jim” Spangler plans to retire June 30. Spangler has been an employee at Clarion Area for 26 years.
– The school board received a request to recognize the junior high cross-country team. The whole cross-country team has 40 members with 21 of them being in junior high.
The school board is looking into hiring an assistant coach for the junior high portion of the team.
– The high school administration is exploring the possibility of offering some additional elective courses for the 2017-2018 school year.
The currently proposed courses include sports science, criminology, organic chemistry and careers or business.