Connellsville school board approves $20 million building upgrade project, proposed budget
CONNELLSVILLE — The Connellsville Area School Board hired a national firm to administer a $20 million project that school district officials said would generate $20 million in energy cost savings and upgrade district technology and security.
Board members voted 7-2 at a meeting Wednesday to hire ABM Building Solutions to implement the design-build project, which will be funded through a bank loan and is not intended to require a tax increase.
The project is supposed to start in June at all five elementary schools, the middle school and high school. It includes replacing fluorescent light with LED light, installing state-of-the-art controls, replacing or upgrading heating and air conditioning units, installing new water heaters and water conserving fixtures, replacing boilers with high-efficiency units and upgrading kitchen coolers and freezers.
ABM will design the projects and award the contracts.
Board members James Duncan and Francis Mongell voted against the contract. The board voted after several people, including three school board candidates who received both the Democrat and Republican nominations in the primary, questioned the contract.
Michael Omatick, the district’s former building and grounds director who won in the primary, questioned the projected $20 million savings. He said the board stated the project would save $300,000 a year in energy costs for 15 years, which adds up to $4.5 million in savings.
Superintendent Philip Martell said the project includes $5 million in improvements to security and technology systems.
Omatick said state law requires the district to make the contract with ABM and the company’s report on the projected savings available to the public before the board votes on the contract.
Martell said those documents have been provided to the board.
David Martray, a retired district industrial arts and technology teacher who won in the primary, said the first time ABM was mentioned at a public board meeting was in April, but he learned at Monday’s planning session that the board and administration have been working with ABM for eight months.
Martell said board subcommittees have been working on the matter, and ABM has been studying the school buildings and equipment for some time.
Martray asked if the board considered focusing on one school as a trial instead of working on all the schools at once.
There are too many projects that need to be done, Martell responded.
Board member Bryan Kisiel said the work should be done now instead of replacing things after they break. Connellsville isn’t the first district to use ABM’s services, he said.
“We’re not the guinea pig,” Kisiel said.
Don Grenaldo, a retired district teacher who also won in the primary, said the best practice is not to have the company that conducted the study to do the work. He suggested tabling the motion to hire ABM.
Responding to questions from Lou Bell, the Bullskin Township tax collector, Robert Geletko, assistant to the superintendent for finance and operations, said the district’s current energy costs are about $1 million a year.
ABM’s fee is 7.2 percent of $20 million and the district will borrow the $20 million, Geletko said.
He said district and ABM staff conducted the study of the school buildings and equipment.
Bell said the projected savings don’t seem realistic and the motion to hire ABM should be tabled until the four candidates who won in the primary are seated in January.
Board member Kevin Lape said interest rates could rise by then.
Kisiel said ABM is guaranteeing an annual savings of $300,000, or 30 percent of the district’s current energy costs.
“If we get only $200,000 (in savings), we get a check,” Kisiel said. “We have a guarantee.”
He said the project is a creative way to improve the district’s infrastructure.
Dunbar Township tax collector Marigrace Butela asked why security needs upgraded and about the projected energy savings. In addition, she asked if converting to solar power was considered.
Elementary schools have only one or two security cameras and the technology improvements will result in some energy savings, Martell said.
A representative from AMD said the cost to install a solar system would be greater than the savings it would generate, and there are no government incentives to offset the cost of a solar system.
In addition to the building project, the board unanimously approved a proposed $75.5 million 2017-18 budget that is $4 million greater that the current budget. It maintains the current 14.24 mills real estate tax rate.
Revenue includes $50.2 million from the state, $19.4 million from local taxes and $4 million from the federal government, Geletko said.
“Basically, the state covers our personnel costs,” Geletko said.
The revenue includes a projected $750,000 from the sale of the three elementary school that will be closed following the school year and a $650,000 increase in basic and special education subsidies, he said.
Expenditures include $27.1 million for salaries, $19.1 million for benefits, $17.6 million for purchased services, $8 million for debt service, $2.9 million for supplies and $607,000 for equipment.
Geletko said benefits will increase by $2 million and salaries will increase by almost $300,000. Health-care costs will increase 9.5 percent, pension costs will rise by 2.5 percent to $8.6 million and purchased services will rise by 2.9 percent. The cost of instruction will be $43.6 million or 58 percent of the budget, he said.
The building improvement project will save $300,000, last year’s bond refinancing will save $87,000 and the district’s cyber school program will save $300,000, Geletko said. In addition there will be 74 fewer jobs over the next two years, he said.
The budget includes a $5.3 million fund balance, which is just shy of the recommended 8 percent, but a significant improvement from the $60,687 fund balance in 2013, he said.
All but $208,000 of the 2017-18 fund balance is unassigned. The rest is committed to future pension and health-care expenses, Geletko said.