Penn Hills School Board voted to approve two bids to improve the Penn Hills High School and Elementary School infrastructure at a special voting meeting on May 10.
The cost of the bids amounts to a combined total of $2,281,200 and was based on the recommendations of Dodson Engineering Inc., an engineering firm located in Pittsburgh. It is a division of Remington and Vernick Engineers.
The first bid was for heating, cooling and air conditioning modifications at the two schools and is from RB Mechanical, a South Hills-based HVAC that is family-owned and has been in business for 16-years. The HVAC bid is the more expensive of the two, costing $1,501,200.
The second bid was for plumbing work at the two schools and is from McRandal Company Inc., another local company located in Blawnox. The cost of this project was bid at $780,000.
“Unfortunately, these repairs are necessary due to ongoing issues with the HVAC and plumbing systems, which affect our ability to properly heat and cool these structures and our ability to generate hot water,” said Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hines.
The new elementary school opened in 2012 and the new high school in 2014.
“The district has struggled to define the specific impact of each contributing factor known to be involved (inappropriate design, faulty installation, inferior product selection, and neglect/limited routine maintenance after construction was complete), which has made it difficult to pursue legal recourse against those involved in the design, construction and maintenance of these schools,” Hines said.
