Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance and facilities committees report $5M capital transfer recommendation, new-elementary bids and field projects
Summary
Committee reports outlined a recommended $5 million transfer from the general fund to capital, updates on athletic fields and playgrounds, low bids for selective demolition of the new elementary school (reported to be just over $1 million under budget for that scope), modular-classroom changes, and a donated rain gauge for Conestoga High School science use.
At the Oct. 28 Tredyffrin-Easttown School Board meeting, committee chairs reported on finance and facilities work that will shape capital planning in the coming year.
Finance committee chair Dr. Roberta Hatinski told the board that local revenues are up about $4.3 million year to date, with general-fund revenue at about $133.3 million as of September. She said the Pennsylvania Department of Education verified an Act 1 index of 4.0% for 2025-26 (which the committee estimated could equate to roughly $5.8 million in potential tax revenue). The committee also recommended moving $5 million from the general fund to the capital fund to pay for capital projects while keeping a suggested fund-balance cushion; the recommendation will be considered through the budget process.
On facilities, Dr. Robert Tseng summarized an Oct. 15 meeting with HSA architects. He said 2024 summer projects are complete and playground work at Beaumont and Hillside is scheduled for summer 2025. The athletic-fields project is underway with a project-management report and multiple prime contractors; a kickoff meeting took place Sept. 5, 2024. During the new elementary-school review the committee reported receiving multiple bids for selective demolition and related trade packages; Dr. Tseng said the low bid for selective demolition was reported to be just over $1,000,000 under budget for that portion of the work. The committee noted alternate bid components (including recycling acoustic ceiling tile) and recommended awards for general, mechanical and plumbing contracts (Hirschberg Mechanical and Rogers Mechanical were named in the presentation) and put those awards on the consent agenda for board approval.
Other facilities items: a recommended red-brick exterior for the new elementary school, a possible change order to repurpose space in the TE Middle School library for special-education classrooms (cost to be determined), a $5,050 modular-classroom electrical/technology change order for Valley Forge Elementary, and a donated rain gauge installation at Conestoga High School from the Valley Creek Restoration Partnership (no cost to the district).
The board approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting (which included the listed contract awards); specific contract amounts for the awarded trade packages were not listed in the public transcript portion of the meeting.
