Mt. Lebanon High School renovation at 101 percent of contingency funds
Mt. Lebanon’s high school renovation project has officially exhausted its contingency funds.
According to project manager Tom Berkebile, the latest round of change orders will push the project to 101 percent of contingency. About 90 percent of the project’s $109 million budget has been spent to date, he said at the March 9 school board meeting.
The school board plans to transfer $538,000 from the project’s furnishings and fixtures budget to replenish the contingency.
“While none of us wanted to see that number over 100 percent, the good news is we do have other sources of money available,” school board president Lawrence Lebowitz said.
The transfer represents a reallocation of funds within the project budget. Facilities director Rick Marciniak explained that nothing was being sacrificed to fund the transfer. “There is not a specific line item the money is being taken from,” he said. “These would have been excess funds.”
Marciniak went on to explain that several leaks had been repaired at the high school over the past week as snow and ice thawed. The problem areas included an old section of roof not replaced during the reonvation project and an electrical conduit in the band room.
He said roofers recommended evaluating the roof section for more substantial repairs, as several years have passed since it was assessed during the high school project’s design phase.
“As of today, we have no roof leaks,” Marciniak concluded.
Also at the March 9 meeting, the school board accepted director Scott Goldman’s resignation. Board president Lebowitz said Goldman had resigned for personal reasons.
The board intends to appoint former school board member Dale Ostergaard as Goldman’s replacement. He would serve a one-year term and does not intend to run for the seat in the next election.
“Given the challenges facing this board in terms of the budget, the high school project and ongoing negotiations with the teachers’ union, it will be best to bring on a veteran who will not need a lot of time to get up to speed,” Lebowitz said.
Ostergaard currently serves as president of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education. He would retain that role after appointment to the school board.