Greater Latrobe eyes $1.5 million in roof projects, data security upgrades

Greater Latrobe School Board on Tuesday will consider about $1.5 million in roof improvements at the junior and senior high schools.

Garland/DBS of Cleveland has submitted a proposal to repair leaks in a section of the junior high roof and to replace an older portion of the senior high roof.

The senior high project, with a quoted base cost of more than $1.5 million, will bring to completion a multi-phase effort to update and replace sections of the school roof that last were renovated in 2004.

“The last portion of the 2004 roof is above the auditorium and the entry commons,” said Kurt Thomas, the district’s director of facilities, operations and planning.

The work will include installing new insulation, a two-ply roof membrane and flashing, covering about 38,500 square feet.

According to Thomas, the new roofing will be covered by a 30-year warranty that will begin in 2024, upon the close of the roof’s original warranty.

District capital improvement funds will be tapped for the roof work, including a cost just shy of $160,000 for repairs at the junior high.

“We had some areas that were damaged over the winter,” as water infiltrated spots on the junior high roof, Thomas said.

“We’ll do the work over the summer,” he said. “In late summer or early fall, we’ll wrap up the metal work and trim work.”

While securing its secondary buildings from the weather with updated roofing, Greater Latrobe also is looking to protect its data from potential online hackers.

Data safeguard proposed

On Tuesday, the school board is expected to vote on a three-year agreement, through June 30, 2025, for purchasing the Cisco DUO Access system. Greater Latrobe expects to pay a reduced rate for the system by joining other area districts in a purchasing consortium organized through the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit.

Initially, the system will be limited to staff and faculty accounts. It will involve a two-factor authentication for users, according to Becki Pellis, assistant to the superintendent for elementary education.

“It’s to make our systems more secure,” she said. She explained district staff will log on to their accounts using a password as well as a second required response that will be specific and known only to each user.

“It’s two steps that are going to sit on top of many of our applications,” she said.

Under the proposed agreement with Cisco Systems, Greater Latrobe would pay a yearly fee of $11 for each of its staff members.

“Many of our local school districts in our intermediate unit are going to be using that same product,” Pellis said.