Haverford board accepts DCED solar award for Chatham Park roof, authorizes contract and procurement

The Haverford Township School District Board authorized district administrators on June 5 to proceed with the next phase of the Chatham Park Elementary roof solar PV project and accepted the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) "Solar for Schools" grant contract for the project.

Board action and immediate next steps Two motions were approved: one authorizing administration to begin the next project steps and procurement under the grant framework; the second accepting the DCED grant contract for the Chatham Park roof solar PV system. Administrators said they will begin the procurement process (with options for alternates) but that no vendor work will start until both parties sign the grant agreement. The district attorney/solicitor had not completed a contract review before the vote; staff committed to forward the contract to counsel for final review.

Why it matters and fiscal context Public commenters urged the district to proceed quickly to secure incentives and fixed energy pricing, citing concern that federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act could change. A resident said the district's grant was "nearly $300,000," a figure attributed in the meeting to a public commenter (not district staff). District staff clarified that Linwood Elementary was not part of the state award and that any additional project at Linwood would require separate board approval and allocation of funds; several board members suggested procurement documents include an alternate bid option to allow pricing comparisons for Linwood if the board later commits additional funding.

Procurement, timing and government review Board members discussed procurement strategy and whether to solicit bids that include Chatham alone and/or a combined Chatham–Linwood option. Staff said alternates are feasible and that including Linwood as an alternate may produce bidding efficiencies, but noted that adding an additional project would require a separate funding decision because capital resources are already committed to other work. Administrators said the district must comply with grant conditions and procurement rules before executing contracts.

Outcome and implementation The board voted to proceed; staff will coordinate the procurement under the grant program, send the grant contract to the solicitor for review, and return with final contract documents and recommended vendor selection for board approval when required.