Mt. Lebanon School Board takes tentative approach toward air conditioning
Harry Funk / Staff If Mt. Lebanon's elementary buildings receive air conditioning, Washington School could be among the first.
Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer speaks during Mt. Lebanon School Board’s Feb. 8 discussion session.
Parents of students in Mt. Lebanon’s elementary and middle schools can relate to Sarah Olbrich’s observation.
“I have children on the second floor of an elementary school whose classroom was 89 degrees at 8:30 in the morning,” the school board member said. “It’s a miserable environment for an 8-year-old to learn in.”
But Olbrich was in consensus with other board members during their Feb. 8 discussion meeting to wait for more information before committing to start working on providing air conditioning in the nine district buildings where it is lacking.
According to information presented during a conversation about the district’s capital projects fund budget, estimates for installing cooling systems are $1.3 million for Jefferson and Mellon middle schools, and $4.05 million for the seven elementary schools, or about $570,000 per building. Annual operating and maintenance costs could add significantly to the overall price tag.
Rick Marciniak, district project manager, said that the district is working with Trane Inc. on specifications, and more precise numbers should be available for the board’s regular meeting on Feb. 22. Trane has proposed overseeing the venture as a “turnkey type of project,” with prices for equipment established through joint-purchasing programs.
“The benefit of using such a type of project is that we would get to use very qualified contractors,” Marciniak explained. “We would have very good equipment. There would be no construction manager or project manager. There are no change orders.”
Also, installing air conditioning in two elementary schools – Lincoln and Washington, the oldest of the seven buildings, was recommended. It could take place prior to the start of the 2016-17 academic year.
To meet that timetable, though, the board would have to make a decision this month, Marciniak said.
Most board members balked at such a commitment at this point.
“We’re not in any rush here, and we can’t be. Nobody wants to make a quick decision,” Lawrence Lebowitz, board president, said. “This is the first time we’ve really had any kind of substantive discussion on the topic.”
Meanwhile, he acknowledged Olbrich’s concerns about temperatures.
“I also agree that we put a lot of demands on our kids. We have extremely high expectations for our students to perform,” he said. “We need to make sure that they’re in an atmosphere and environment where they can be the most successful they can be.”
He asked Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer to present more information for further discussion on the matter.
Regarding the capital projects fund budget, the board plans to vote Feb. 22 on approving $807,802 for 62 projects in 2016-17.
Another 20 projects were considered, including the air-conditioning installations, but administrators determined that they could wait.
“There’s nothing on that list that we think is required for the safety of our kids,” Steinhauer said about the projects that didn’t make the cut. “We’re very comfortable with that.”
The budgeted amount for capital projects in 2015-16 exceeded $900,000, but only $751,719 has been spent, according to Marciniak.