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Kiski Area School District hears construction progress, officials flag pending change orders and P.J. Dick extension
Summary
District construction manager reported substantial interior progress and a late‑May/early‑June target for substantial completion, while administrators clarified roughly $47,000 of change orders on tonight's agenda and a separate P.J. Dick contract extension request. Board members pressed for clearer totals and documentation.
Construction manager John Tormena, representing P.J. Dick, told the Kiski Area School District board that interior work has moved quickly over the past weeks, with flooring, painted walls and casework installed in key academic wings and life‑safety devices nearing completion. Tormena said paving around the perimeter is scheduled for the first week of May, boilers are set to be started the following day, and kitchen equipment installation has begun — all steps he described as moving the project toward an architectural punch list and a late‑May to early‑June substantial completion target for the overall project.
“Walls are painted, floors are in,” Tormena said, summarizing progress and noting that punch‑list work would begin soon. He cautioned the board that while he used the phrase “substantial completion” for pockets of work, the project is being managed as a single, overall completion date.
Tormena reviewed multiple contractor change orders this month, describing a Leia Kairis package with six components and a stated total just under $31,000, field‑condition work in art rooms (ductwork and ceiling adjustments), material‑only substitutions for diffusers in the cafeteria, and added vents and exhaust lines that required exterior core drilling. He and administration told board members the items listed on that night’s agenda total roughly $47,000; an additional column in the packet labeled “pending, estimated” included about $80,300 of possible items that may return for approval.
Board members questioned figures on the project financial page and asked staff to clarify cumulative totals. “If you look at the project financials, the executive‑approved COs of 712 appear prior to the ones discussed tonight,” a director said while examining the packet; administrators agreed to follow up with a definitive running total. Tormena estimated that, if the pending entries were approved, a cumulative total in the neighborhood of $760,000 could result, but he said the running total would be confirmed after the meeting.
Dr. Halter, a board director, framed the discussion politically and financially: “We have change orders totaling like $80,000. We’re at P.J. Dick asking us to extend for almost $70,000… It just feels like a lot,” she said, pressing for greater transparency even as she acknowledged the district’s interest in finishing the new school. The administration confirmed the P.J. Dick extension and the change orders would appear on an upcoming consent agenda for formal board action.
Next steps: staff agreed to circulate clarified financial figures and updated change‑order documents ahead of the board’s vote on the contract extension and listed change orders at the next meeting.
