Project bids for a heating and cooling project and kitchen addition at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary School are over budget again.
Superintendent Shannon Wagner said bids for the Bon Air project are a little more than $10 million, the amount budgeted by the district.
“The architect is taking a look at it,” she said. “We’re looking at the documents, and we’ll come back to the board with some more information next week.
“We are over currently, which is a little bit disappointing.”
It’s the second time bids came in over budget, even after the district reduced the scope of the project.
In August, the school board voted down a proposed kitchen and cafeteria addition and HVAC upgrades at Bon Air because the bids were over budget. Officials were directed to rebid the project at a smaller scope to reduce costs.
In January, the district’s architect, HHSDR Inc. of Pittsburgh, designed a smaller project that just included a kitchen addition and HVAC upgrades.
Bon Air does not have air conditioning, and its heating and ventilation systems are from 1997.
Officials have said the kitchen expansion is needed to accommodate Stewart Elementary students who now attend Bon Air after the district decided to close Stewart Elementary after the end of the past school year.
Wagner said the board will discuss the bids at its meeting Tuesday but wouldn’t necessarily have to award them then.
She said the plumbing and electrical portions of the bids are what’s coming in over budget.
“I truly think it’s a lack of workers,” she said. “We talk about how we, as a school, prepare kids and the types of industry and jobs that are needed, and plumbing and electrical are taking a pretty good hit.
“We need to consider that when we make our decision. I’m not suggesting that we spend extra money just because of that fact, but we are in a situation where our buildings need some TLC.”
An $8 million HVAC project already is underway at Burrell High School; the building doesn’t have air conditioning, and its heating and ventilation system is from 1974.
The high school project is anticipated to be complete in August.
Burrell floated a $10 million bond for the high school project and would anticipate taking out another $10 million to cover the other projects.
