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The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted Monday night to make an approximately 80-acre site in Plains Township the home for a new high school, authorizing a new appraisal for the property and launching negotiations with the owner toward purchasing the area, known as the Pagnotti site.
The board also voted to limit any property tax increase in 2018-19 to a state maximum of 3.4 percent, and they agreed to participate in a committee being formed by the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority to look into granting tax breaks for development of the former Valley Crest Nursing Home land.
The vote on the Pagnotti site, roughly the shape of a triangle bounded by the north Cross Valley Expressway, Maffett Street and Main Street, does not mean the school will be built there, but it does mean the district intends to build there if negotiations for the purchase succeed and the state approves the location.
The site had been under consideration when the board first looked into consolidation of high schools in 2014, but the board opted to build a new school in downtown Wilkes-Barre where Coughlin High School now stands. That plan died when the city Zoning Hearing Board denied a needed variance. The school board decided to build outside the city rather than appeal that ruling.
The plan is to merge grades 9 through 12 from Coughlin and Meyers High School into the new building.
Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said it is possible negotiations for the purchase could be completed in a month or two, depending on the appraisal and how it fits into district finances. The board has anticipated spending $100 million or more on the project, but expects it to be closer to $80 million or less.
The vote on the tax increase limit is required under the state law known as Act 1 of 2006, which promised to use money from legalized gambling to lower school property taxes. The state sets an Act 1 index each year that can vary from district to district, and a school board must agree to stay within that limit, to hold a referendum allowing it to exceed the limit, or to get state approval to exceed it. That approval is granted for only a few narrow reasons.
The vote on the Valley Crest property does not bind the district into any tax breaks. The owner of the property, Tamburro R.E. Development and Management LLC, is looking to develop it into mixed retail and residential use. The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority is helping spearhead a possible tax break program known as Tax Incremental Financing, or TIF.
If all taxing bodies, including the district, agree, the owner can forgo property tax payments for an agreed-upon length of time and use that money for property development and improvements. The authority wants to form a committee of stakeholders to look into setting up a TIF. The board appointed John Quinn as its representative on that committee.
After the meeting, Wendolowski said the board had agreed in executive session to appeal an arbitration ruling that had ordered the district to reinstate four GAR Memorial High School teachers who had been fired for violating district drug and alcohol policies. The four were accused of drinking before or during a school dance where they served as chaperones.
The arbiter ruled there was no evidence they had alcohol on their breath or in their systems, and ordered them reinstated with back pay. Wendolowski said the board’s position is that teacher contract leaves enforcement of the policy at the sole discretion of the board, and that the arbiter did not have authority to overturn the board’s decision. The appeal will be made in Luzerne County Court.
The board did get some good news: A “pilot project” conducted to determine structural integrity at GAR was completed months ahead of schedule at at less than half the maximum estimated cost of $600,000. Superintendent Brian Costello said the district must continue to monitor parts of the roof and facade, but that work done as part of the project should help secure the structure for about 15 years while the district considers other recommended repairs.