Southeastern Greene board to consider new heating system
MAPLETOWN – Southeastern Greene School Board voted Monday to hire an engineering company to prepare the design to replace the heating and air conditioning system at Bobtown Elementary School.
Miller Engineering was hired at a cost of $86,525 to design plans to replace the system, oversee the bidding process and serve as construction administrator on the project.
The company also provided the same services when the district replaced the heating and air conditioning system at the junior-senior high school about three years ago.
Craig Miller of Miller Engineering told the board the boilers in the elementary school are now about 40 to 45 years old and considered almost “dinosaurs.” One will probably have to be replaced soon, he said.
At the same time, the existing system has few controls, which means some rooms get so hot during the winter months that teachers have to open the windows, he said.
Miller said he proposes to change the system from hot water to forced air and add new controls that would allow thermostats in each room.
The high ceilings in the school will make it easy to install the ductwork for the forced air system, he said. Dropped ceiling would be installed and new lights, preferably LED lights, would be added that would help the district receive a better return on its investment, Miller said.
Business manager Pat Sweeney said the company did a good job on the junior-senior high school project, especially in holding the contractors accountable for their work.
Sweeney said later the project would not only help save the district money in energy costs but also make the school more comfortable for students.
Though Miller said he didn’t like to quote estimates this early in a project because of the many still unknown variables, he told the board the project could cost between $650,000 and $800,000.
The board also hired Miller at a cost of $23,350 to design and oversee a project to construct an elevator at the junior-senior high school. Miller gave a rough estimate of the costs of the project at $200,000 to $265,000.
In other business, the board accepted the resignation of English teacher Jennifer George and hired Courtney Shields as her replacement.
At a meeting earlier this month, the board voted to hire Bart Donley as the Mapletown Junior-Senior High School principal and Rick Menear as principal at Bobtown Elementary. The current elementary principal, Scott Sinn, was moved to the position of district curriculum director.
Both Donley and Menear are Mapletown graduates and are fulfilling their obligations in the current employment. Acting Superintendent Richard Pekar reported Menear is expected to start in their district Nov. 6 and Donley between Nov. 17 and Dec. 6.
The board discussed beefing up its band program. Pekar said the administration was working on it and saw some improvement. Board member J.R. Antill said he would like to see instrumental classes offered in the elementary to begin preparing students for high school band.
Jesse Fox of the Greensboro Youth Baseball Association thanked the board for earlier permitting the association to use the Penn Pitt school. He also asked whether it would be possible for the Pony League team to use the high school field for games.
Fox noted the district doesn’t have a junior varsity baseball team and the pony league team now serves as feeder to the district’s varsity team. The team has been using the Dunkard Township field but can’t use it at times. Fox was asked to submit a detailed proposal to the district.