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WILKES-BARRE — Wilkes-Barre Area School Board has yet another construction proposal on the table that could, sometime in the future, include $23 million in estimated renovations at Heights Murray Elementary School and $51.5 million in renovations at GAR Memorial High School.
Near the end of a brief special meeting Wednesday that had only one item on the printed agenda, Solicitor Ray Wendolowski advised that, after talking with officials at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, it appears any new construction projects will be ineligible for state money if paperwork is not submitted by May 15.
That’s a result of a new state fiscal code that became law when Gov. Tom Wolf let it pass without his signature. Among other things, the code directs the state to borrow up to $2.5 billion to fund the cash-strapped “PlanCon” system of reimbursement for school projects. Along with borrowing the money to pay districts, the fiscal code mandates a moratorium on the program beginning May 15.
Wendolowski introduced a revised district-wide feasibility study. Such studies are mandated before a district can submit PlanCon paperwork. The first such feasibility study for the district was done December 2014, with a revision adopted in June 2015, the month the board voted to consolidate Meyers and Coughlin high schools
Under the “new business” part of the agenda, Wendolowski suggested the board make and approve a motion to submit initial paperwork to the state for four projects mentioned in the new feasibility study: The new high school already in the works, expansion of Kistler Elementary under design and the work at GAR and Heights Murray.
Wendolowski stressed a vote to submit the paperwork — known as PlanCon A — does not mean the district will do the projects. The move was strictly to get the projects into the PlanCon pipeline before the moratorium begins. By filing the paperwork now, work on GAR and Heights Murray will be eligible for state money if a future board does decide to do either project.
A sizable amount of money is at risk. The revised feasibility study estimates the Heights Murray project could be eligible for up to $4.48 million in state reimbursement and the GAR project could net about $7.74 million.
With John Quinn absent, the board voted unanimously to submit the paperwork, though Christine Katsock stressed it was “for financial purposes only.” Katsock has largely opposed major construction in the past year, contending there were cheaper alternatives.
The board voted last June to consolidate grades 9 through 12 at Meyers and Coughlin High Schools into a new building at the Coughlin site and expand Kistler to house grades seven and eight from Meyers. The board had already submitted PlanCon A for those two projects; Wednesday’s vote was to resubmit the plans with the addition of GAR and Heights Murray.
Wendolowski said the new PlanCon submission gives the board ample time to decide whether or not to do the GAR and Heights Murray renovations. By state law, the board can wait until 2019 before it would have to award contracts for any work.
The board is grappling with these high-ticket construction projects even as the district faces a budget crisis. Projections by both the district business office and an outside firm show the district in the red by as much as $70 million in five years if things don’t change.
The district is working on a “pathway to the future” that begins with $4 million in cuts in the upcoming 2016-17 budget. Katsock, who chairs the budget committee, said those cuts will happen, but declined to give details after Wednesday’s meeting, saying it will be unveiled at the May 23 monthly meeting at GAR.
Even as it looks for those cuts, the board ended up spending a bit more money Wednesday night. The lone agenda item was approval of a change order for work being done on a retaining wall at GAR, adding $50,000 to the price. Three members voted no: Katsock, James Susek and Shawn Walker.
To see the revised feasibility study, go to timesleader.com
