KANE — The Kane Area School Board finance and operations committee met in the cafeteria of Kane Area High School on Tuesday to discuss repairs to the facility, both inside and out.
Reports of needed repairs to both the high school building and the football field started surfacing in February. The high school facilities were built in 1970.
Before the session got under way, committee chairman Tom Kerek reported on a conference call he participated in last week with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, of which he is the District IV director. Kerek said Gov. Tom Wolf did not budget any money in the coming year for PlanCon reimbursements for districts which may have recently underwent new construction or renovations.
Kerek said schools owed money from the PlanCon reimbursements will likely either not receive it or will have to fund their projects out of their own budget. He also noted while many school districts throughout the Commonwealth may have trouble finishing out the school year, the Kane Area School District remains in good shape from a financial standpoint.
Kerek said the district has had several proposals about the drainage project on the football field — now referred to as “the multi-use stadium” — and has also had a few individuals contact the school district about the field. The school board envisions the field to be able to handle all levels of football, soccer and band as opposed to just for high school football games.
School director John Ball wants to enlist the help of the Kane Volunteer Fire Department to have them test the current drainage system by pumping water into the catch basins.
Kerek said it really has not been a local bidding process for the drainage project thus far. However, he believes several local companies will likely submit bids for the project. School director Susan Grolemund said there needs to be a cutoff date for companies to submit proposals. The committee set the deadline for the proposals for April 15.
Kerek then turned his attention to the repairs needed in the high school building. District facilities director John Rook said water seeping into the building is visible in the nurse’s office. Rook said the problem in that room is due to rusted out window frames along with shifting in the structure itself. He also said there is water blowing into one of the back hallways in the school as well as one vent in the auditorium.
HHSDR Architects/Engineers of Sharon gave the district an estimate for renovations in 2012, but the project was much larger in scope and was estimated at $280,000, according to Rook.
School director Scott Paul said with no state budget in place, the district should “fix what is needed first,” and then work on what he called a “wish list” afterwards.
Rook said his department has been fixing ceiling tiles as they need to be fixed. However, he noted they are expensive, and if the district decides to make the repairs to the tiles room by room, Rook may have to match up the older tiles to ensure none of them will stand out.
High school science teacher Mike London said he would like to see his aging science equipment and the facilities in which they are used look similar to those in the middle school, which was built in 2010. However, London said he would rather not have the students seated at the lab stations during class. He would also like to have gas, water and electrical lines run into the classroom, a feature which London’s classroom currently lacks.
Ball was particularly concerned with the science rooms, as they are “a big part of education.” He said one lab is not enough.
Kerek said solutions for the flooring at the high school will need to be addressed as well. He said after meeting with Thompson Floor Covering of Kane, he learned as the structure expands and shifts, the tiles break.
Rook revealed the floor is covered with asbestos tile. He is unsure as to whether or not any asbestos is in the mastic or the glue. Rook said if replacement is needed, the district would have to take the steps to remediate the asbestos. He said there are 2 by 2 foot carpet tiles which cover the existing tile available.
Superintendent Bob Gaetano said Thompson is checking on the status of the warranty for the tiles in the high school library.
The committee also discussed the metal canopy at the school’s entrance, the lighting, and the wrestling room, the latter of which had discussion tabled until the state budget is passed. Grolemund said the district cannot afford to wait and action is needed now.
School board vice president Keith Hastings said the board needs to come up with a priority list as to what needs to be done first instead of drilling out every fine detail. Hastings said to figure out what needs to be done to both the building and the field, see where the district stands on money, then figure out a plan based on that information.
The next regular meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 14.
