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Board opens proposals to rebuild wall

4 min read

ROGERSVILLE – West Greene School Board opened proposals from contractors Thursday to rebuild the failed retaining wall at the new elementary center.

The board solicited proposals under an emergency provision to rebuild the 760-foot-long wall behind the new school after it was discovered collapsed the morning of Nov. 7.

Proposals were received from two companies: Burchick Construction Co. of Pittsburgh and Brayman Construction Corp. of Saxonburg.

The proposals will be reviewed by the district’s construction manager, Aecom, formerly URS, and a contract will be awarded based on the “best value” method of bidding, said Ron Miller of URS.

The companies’ proposals will be evaluated based on factors including the companies’ qualifications, approach to the project, experience and fees, Miller said.

The board may be ready to award a contract for the project at its building and grounds committee meeting Thursday.

During the pre-board meeting, Donald R. Green, a geotechnical specialist with Michael Baker International, gave an update on the design of the new retaining wall.

Baker was originally hired in December as an independent engineer to complete a study on the cause of the wall’s collapse. It was subsequently retained by the board to design the wall’s replacement.

The existing wall will be taken down and a reinforced concrete cantilever wall will be constructed in its place.

Part of the project will involve installing a new drainage system along with the construction of a buried anchor wall 75-to-100 feet upslope from the cantilever wall to address issues involving the “landslide prone” hillside, Green said.

The engineering firm expects to have the final construction documents ready by April 1, with the goal of having the project substantially completed by Aug. 1, Green said.

The schedule established for the project is “aggressive,” Green said. “But it is doable,” he added.

In other business, the board received an audit for the year ending June 30, 2014 from the accounting firm Cypher and Cypher.

The audit revealed no significant deficiencies in accounting procedures or any issues involving non-compliance with laws and regulations, Steve Cypher said.

The district ended the year with a “very healthy” unassigned fund balance of $3.2 million, which is about 20 percent of the district’s operating budget, Cypher said. “Many districts are not as fortunate,” he said.

The auditors warned the district about increases in retirement costs all districts in the state will be facing as a result of the underfunded state public school employees’ retirement program.

The rate districts must pay increased dramatically in the last few years and is now nearly 20 percent of the salaries of employees covered by the retirement program.

The rate is expected to increase nearly 4 percent next year and eventually reach 30 percent.

Business manager Shannon Rutan, later in her monthly report, said she began work on next year’s budget.

In addition to the 4 percent increase in retirement contributions, the district is expected to face a 4 percent jump in health insurance costs, she said.

Rutan noted family coverage for an employee now costs the district about $18,870 a year. The largest increases in next year’s budget will probably be attributed to the costs of employee benefits, she said.

Superintendent Thelma Szarell reported on a fund raising effort begun by teacher Eric Bedilion and seventh-grade students that in just 13 days raised $11,000 for a seventh-grade student in the district who has terminal brain cancer.

The money will be used to send the child and his family on a trip to Disneyland. The group used an internet website GoFundMe to help raise the money.

“I’m very proud of these students,” Szarell said. “These are the kind of students we have at West Greene.”

Szarell said she was proud of support the effort received from the sponsors, parents, district employees and the community. The GoFundMe site will continue to operate to raise money for a scholarship in the child’s name.

Board member Chad Scott announced the academic improvement committee is close to completing a proposal to increase academic eligibility requirements for students participating in athletics and extracurricular activities.

The issue is expected to be discussed at the committee’s next meeting at 6 p.m. March 10 in the high school cafeteria.

The group is discussing establishing more stringent standards to improve academic achievement but also including a tutoring program for students who need extra help.

The board voted to hire Rodney Huffman as the district’s head varsity football coach.

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