The New Kensington-Arnold School District has potentially millions of dollars’ worth of maintenance and repairs needed at its buildings but no plan, yet, on how to get the work done.

Officials want to devise a five-year plan for buildings and grounds. It could include projects ranging from remodeling a loading dock for $35,000 to replacing the boilers at H.D. Berkey Elementary for almost $1 million, according to Bob Pallone, chairman of the school board’s building and grounds committee.

Part of that plan will be to look critically at H.D. Berkey and determine just how much the district is willing to spend on a building that’s about 100 years old. It last was renovated around 2000.

“We’ve got to take a hard look at understanding what we invest in,” Pallone said.

Replacing Berkey with a new building is one option floating around, but that would add cost and come with its own set of problems — especially for the nearly 300 first and second grade students who attend school there.

If the district were to decide to replace Berkey, it does not own property where a new school could be built, Pallone said. The district could then have to decide if it would change how its grades are configured, such as moving to a kindergarten through sixth grade configuration.

Currently, kindergarten is at Martin Elementary while third through sixth grades are at Roy A. Hunt Elementary.

While not all of the work has price estimates, Berkey’s boilers are projected at $915,000, according to an email to the board from Zachary Heidenreich, director of buildings and grounds, and provided by Pallone.

Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said there are no plans for any building work, and what would be done at any building won’t be known until the district does a comprehensive needs assessment.

“It’s a systematic evaluation of both the indoor and outdoor spaces to determine the current conditions, identify deficiencies and plans for future needs,” he said. “The main goal is to measure whether or not the physical facilities support the operational goals and safety standards.”

Year-by-year plan

• As presented by Heidenreich, capital projects in the first year of such a plan could include resurfacing the track, with costs ranging from about $142,500 to $259,000, and remodeling the high school auditorium, with new seats costing $270,500 plus ceiling and paint work.

• The second year lists the boiler at Martin at roughly $725,000, the parking lot at Valley High School, administration roof replacement for $188,950 and buying a truck for about $60,000.

• Berkey’s boilers appear in the third year. There is also a loading dock repair/remodel at $35,000 and locker painting at the high school, priced at $60,000.

• Berkey’s floor replacement is in the fourth year and beyond, with no price listed, as are building improvements — windows, doors, insulation — across all buildings. Boilers at Roy A. Hunt are priced at $835,000.

Boilers at Valley High School were installed in 2013 and are not expected to need replacement for at least another 10 years.

Remodeling student, faculty and locker room bathrooms would include replacing the floors, plumbing, urinals and toilets, sinks and stalls and partitions, along with new lighting and paint.

High school bridges

Adding to the district’s list of needed work is the discovery of buried pylons near the new pedestrian bridges at Valley High School. The discovery has delayed work on steps and a ramp needed to finish the bridges, Pallone said.

The pylons go so deep that they can’t be removed, Pallone said. The discovery has required preparing new specifications for the stairs and ramp.

Steps for one of the twin bridges are expected to be finished by the end of this month, Pallone said. The other, including a ramp, will require going into next year, after the weather breaks, Pallone said.

While the main entrance bridge to the high school was substantially finished in August 2022, it took until this month for railings and panels to be installed. Damage from a vehicle collision also was repaired.

Work on the bridges began with an engineer being hired in February 2021 to inspect them.

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