Burrell elementary school expansion to be tweaked after bids come in over budget

Burrell School District officials need to pare the cost of construction projects at Bon Air Elementary School after bids came in over budget.

The lowest bid for Bon Air’s proposed cafeteria and kitchen addition, and heating and cooling projects, came in at $12.6 million, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner.

“That is over our budget, and over what we discussed,” Wagner said.

At Wagner’s recommendation, the school board decided to delay awarding contracts for the Bon Air projects and directed the district’s architecture firm, HHSDR of Pittsburgh, to shave $2 million to $3 million off the project, which would potentially reduce the size of the cafeteria and kitchen addition.

“This is not unique to Burrell,” said Andreas Dometakis, district architect. “All the projects coming in are like this. It’s very unpredictable.”

District officials say the cafeteria and kitchen expansion project is needed to accommodate Stewart Elementary students who will attend Bon Air beginning this fall after the district decided to close Stewart.

Holding off on the Bon Air contracts gives the board a chance to see bids for a heating and cooling project at Burrell High School, Wagner said. Those bids will be discussed at a school board meeting Aug. 12 and possibly awarded Aug. 19. That project, Wagner said, was estimated to be around $9 million.

The school board already has taken out a $10 million bond for the proposed projects and has committed to a boiler replacement at the high school for $800,000, which is already under construction. That’s anticipated to be completed Aug. 31, Wagner said.

District officials in the future plan to take out another $10 million bond for projects.

Dometakis said it would be difficult to bring down HVAC costs for the Bon Air projects, but there could be reductions by redesigning the proposed cafeteria and kitchen addition.

Wagner had anticipated the Bon Air projects to be completed in August 2026. Dometakis said waiting for a redesigned bid would adjust the timeline for completion.

“We can adjust the schedule accordingly with the contractors,” he said.

The board had requested alternate bids for a potential classroom wing addition at Bon Air, but will not move forward with that because those costs were even higher.

Wagner acknowledged that Burrell is shrinking — they expect just less than 100 students enrolled in kindergarten next year — but that the construction projects are necessary.

None of the district’s buildings have air conditioning. The high school’s heating and ventilation system is from 1964, and Bon Air’s is from 1997.

“We are shrinking, but we do need the kitchen to properly feed and serve,” Wagner said.