Colfax school fate hinges on roof repair decision

Fixing the roof at Colfax Upper Elementary may double as the Allegheny Valley School Board's decision on keeping the school open.

And committing to the school could set the district down the path of spending an estimated $5 million more for various improvements and renovations at the school, according to information the school board reviewed on Thursday.

The entire nine-member school board attended an operations and finance committee meeting regarding Colfax.

It included an update of the district's five-year facilities plan, in which work at Colfax consumes $5.8 million of the $6.2 million in projects.

Replacing the roof at Colfax is the district's first priority, at a cost of about $850,000.

The school board is expected to vote on seeking construction bids for the roof work this month. A contract could be awarded in March or April, with construction starting at the end of the school year.

If that happens, “That's akin to saying we're keeping Colfax open for the long haul,” board member Stephen Puskar said.

While board member Kathleen Haas said the board had previously voted to keep Colfax open, Puskar said no such vote was made.

The decision, made in August, was to stop a study on the possibility of closing the school, he said.

“We never voted to keep a building open,” Puskar said. “We voted to stop a study.”

Board President Larry Pollick said the board couldn't vote on keeping the school open.

“We can't take a vote to keep it open because it is open,” he said.

Work at Colfax has been deferred for too long, and now something must be done, Pollick said. “Shame on somebody,” he said. “It didn't get like this overnight.”

Colfax this year houses 229 students across its three grades. That's down about 11 percent from an enrollment of 256 four years ago.

It mirrors the district's total enrollment decline, which is down by 12 percent from 1,120 in the 2009-10 school year to 983 this school year. Puskar, who has argued that the district can't afford to keep Colfax open, said it could save substantially up front and in annual operating costs by closing Colfax.

Moving all of Colfax's students to Acemtonia Primary Center would cost $2.2 million less than the work projected at Colfax, he said.

A more controversial option — that has sixth grade housed at the high school — would cost $4 million less, he said.

Board member Salvatore Conte questioned those amounts, saying that the cost of demolishing Colfax — about $300,000 — was not included. He is also against putting sixth grade at the high school.

“We made a decision on what we want to do,” Conte said.

If the district spends about $850,000 on the roof at Colfax, there still is $5 million worth of work to do, Puskar said.

Adding air conditioning to Colfax is among future projects contemplated there. Because it would involve work on the roof, board member Jimette Gilmartin asked if that's something the board should talk about now.

“I'd like to have that discussion before we decide,” Gilmartin said.

If the district is going to keep Colfax open, it needs to do it right, board member Antonio Pollino said.

“We need to put some thought into a long-term strategy,” Pollino said. “We need to have a long-term plan no matter which direction.”

Resident Mark Mattone charged the board with “beating a dead horse.” He said he had wanted to hear more about the costs of the various options.

“You can't expect anybody to make an educated decision unless you have all the figures,” he said. “We're still wasting our time.”

Resident Shawn Whelan said the board seemed to be “all over the map” on the issue.

“You've got to make a decision and go with it,” he said.

Pollick expressed confidence in the board's ability to work together.

“We have a common desire to do what's best for our school district,” he said. “We're all good friends here. We'll find a solution.”

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4701 or brittmeyer@tribweb.com.