But Where's the PLAN??

From the BCCT.

And so the renovations begin. The overarching renovations plan is STILL missing in action. It looks like we're going to piecemeal ourselves to death on uncoordinated fits of renovation spending.

The board members who make the political decisions won't comment on the record, so they send out Tim Lastician to take the slings and arrows instead. We're not sure when the renovations will be done...We hope it will be half done before September 2009.

This is all very reassuring...NOT! What will we do when the "Welcome Back, Students!" signs next September are accompanied by "Caution: Construction Zone" signs?

Channeling the departed Ed Frankenfield for a moment, we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a plan. The plan is probably out there, shrouded in secrecy and known but to only a few of the Emperor's most dedicated Kool-Aid cronies.

Why don't we want to upgrade our schools and welcome those with disabilities? Isn't it ironic that many of those taxpayers who most oppose making the schools a little more user friendly are among those who hobble most desperately up the steps to attend board meetings.

Paging Clara Peller: Where's the plan?

LOL: I don't think there's anyone back there, either.

Renovation plans moving forward
The parts and labor for the long-anticipated renovations are estimated to cost about $3.7 million plus another $400,000 in contract fees.
By MANASEE WAGH

Renovation plans at the 50-year-old Morrisville high school are swinging into gear.

The recent decision has come after years of wavering among previous and current board members about what to do with the district’s high school and two elementary schools.

Morrisville’s school board is working with Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to update old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems at the Middle/Senior High School.

The project’s scope includes a range of new components, including ventilators for heating in classrooms, windows with better weatherproofing, expansion tanks for boilers, heating and ventilation units in the gym, locker rooms, auditorium and kitchen, gas-fired hot water heaters and parts for the air- conditioning units in the library and administrative offices.

Vitetta also will test the hot water supply and piping at the high school because it probably has corroded due to age, said the facilities manager, Tim Lastichen.

There have been no sizeable renovations to any of the district’s three schools in decades, Lastichen said.

Morrisville’s two elementary schools are also in need of similar repairs, and the school board is in talks with Vitetta to perform upgrades there.

Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to improve the deteriorating school buildings since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school early this year.

Part of the original $30 million bond meant for the new school will be used instead for the renovations.

The company’s fees for overseeing the high school upgrades total about $400,000, and the cost of replacement parts and labor is expected to be around $3.7 million.

At the previous school board meeting, board member Robin Reithmeyer voted against the initiative to pursue these renovations because the district isn’t applying for state reimbursement.

Under certain circumstances, the state Department of Education can refund a school district a portion of construction project costs if the district follows the department’s approval process, called PlanCon.

Vitetta architects found the project does not meet state guidelines necessary for PlanCon approvals, said William Hellmann, board president.

Either renovation or construction is eligible for state reimbursement only under two criteria, according to the state Department of Education: adding capacity to the building, as in the case of a growing student population, or bringing the building up to modern American Disabilities Act standards.

Therefore, Morrisville’s renovations wouldn’t be eligible, according to the state.

“Believe me, if I could get money from the state, I would be the first to do it,” Hellmann said. “This work is for the health, safety and welfare of the children and teachers and needs to be done as soon as possible.”

Though a concrete timeline for completing the upgrades is not available yet, the district plans to dive in as soon as the school year is over in June. Hopefully, the work will be at least half finished before the summer ends, Lastichen said.

Originally built in 1925, the district’s two elementary schools, Grandview and M. R. Reiter, are much older than the high school.

Grandview’s front section was added to the original building in 1957 and its back section was added in 1968. Reiter needed to be renovated in the 1960s after catching fire.

“But nothing’s been touched since,” Lastichen said. “So it needs it.”