Erie City SD details $200M Phase 2 facilities plan, Grover Cleveland bid set for February
Erie City SD Committee of the Whole · January 8, 2026
Summary
Facilities director presented a 10‑year Phase 2 roadmap (Phase 2a/2b/2c) including full renovations at Grover Cleveland, Strong Vincent and East Middle, a Grover addition with elevator and temporary classrooms, and estimated Phase 2 cost of about $200 million; some funding tied to a $10 million bond and capital reserves.
Mister Brockman told the board the district has mapped the next 10 years of facility investments and described Phase 2 as a multi‑stage plan intended to modernize buildings not addressed in Phase 1.
He said earlier piecemeal work of about $80.8 million evolved into a far larger program (cited $191 million in prior investments) as federal COVID dollars and a more comprehensive approach reshaped priorities. Phase 2 will be organized into Phase 2a (Grover Cleveland, Strong Vincent, East Middle), Phase 2b and 2c across subsequent years so that typically three projects run simultaneously to achieve completion within a 10‑year window.
Brockman told the board East Middle School’s mechanical and electrical systems—about 30 years old—are in worse condition than originally anticipated and that the timeline for East was moved earlier. For Grover Cleveland he described the site plan changes (creation of an on‑property access road from West 36th Street to remove drop‑off/pickup traffic from West 38th Street), a new elevator to meet ADA requirements, an addition that will house a separate gym plus four classrooms that double as temporary classroom space during renovation, and a new electrical room and switchgear. He explained the added classrooms and gym are intended to accelerate renovation timelines by creating on‑site swing space and avoid long multi‑year outages or the use of trailers.
Bids for Grover Cleveland were advertised, with a Jan. 28 bid closing and a board consideration expected at the first February meeting. Brockman projected the addition and elevator work to finish by Dec. 2027 if work starts as scheduled. Strong Vincent’s design phase is underway with board contract approvals targeted for May–June 2026 and a projected completion in 2028; East’s construction documents and schedule were pushed earlier with anticipated construction into 2027–2029 for completion timelines across the three projects.
On financing, Brockman said the district has earmarked portions of a $10 million bond issue and capital improvement cash to cover parts of Edison, Grover Cleveland and Strong Vincent; he said the district will consult with PNC about debt service options. He estimated Phase 2 overall at roughly $200 million and cautioned that PlanCon (the state’s historic school construction reimbursement mechanism) has not been a reliable funding source in recent years. Board members asked about bid packaging, alternates for air conditioning as an add‑alternate, trade lead times (switchgear), and minority/women participation in contracting; Brockman noted a responsible‑contractor policy is included in bid packets and said staff will meet with interested board members to review that policy.
The board did not approve construction contracts at the Committee meeting; Grover Cleveland bids will be returned to the board for action in February.
