A series of recently identified mechanical issues at schools in the Upper Perkiomen School District, combined with multiple planned building repairs, is forcing the school board to consider floating a bond. Last week, President Melanie Cunningham announced that she has directed administrators to investigate the cost of borrowing funds.
Cunningham said the plan is to contact PFM Financial, LLC, the district's financial consultant, to get an idea about the expense of borrowing $3 million, $5 million and $10 million. The Philadelphia firm helped secure the bonds the district used to fund the construction of the middle school, located on Montgomery Avenue in Upper Hanover.
"I feel like if we use our reserve funds to do all this work, it will go down to nothing," she said during the Jan. 23 meeting.
One of two sewer pumps at the high school needs to be repaired, according to JP Prego, chair of the facilities committee. He said that work needs to happen as soon as possible because if the other pump fails, the district could "have issues."
A coil in the boys locker room froze and burst, causing flooding, according to Prego. He described recent excessive cold temperatures as the cause.
Additionally, a pump at Marlborough Elementary, connected to a new boiler, needs to be replaced. Prego estimated the cost at $8,000.
Ventilation and intake tubing at the 4th & 5th Grade Center, located at 510 Jefferson St., in East Greenville, were accidentally capped during recent roof repairs. According to the facilities committee chair, Principal Art Vigilante reported that his office was unusually warm.
Prego provided an update on several of the planned projects. He said the committee might need to meet before the regularly scheduled date of Feb. 24 to properly line up the project.
According to Prego the district's engineer, Barry Islett, has already presented an initial packet of information. He said it might need to provide follow-up information.
"We're getting close to the drop-dead date," Prego said. "There are a lot of moving pieces, and a lot of people would be displaced."
In September, the board voted to approve an award from the Public School Environmental Repairs Program Grant worth $495,979. The district is prepared to spend the remaining portion of the total cost, approximately $1.2 million, to cover the entire abatement project, said Prego. The grant requires a 50/50 match. An annual inspection of each of the school's buildings is required by law, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrea Farina.
Administrators plan on removing the material – described by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a group of naturally occurring minerals resistant to heat and corrosion that has been used in products such as insulation for pipes, floor tiles, building materials and in vehicle brakes and clutches – from several areas of the building, located at 2 Walt Road in Red Hill. It is not friable, defined as easily broken into small fragments or reduced to powder.
The work won't commence until the end of the current school year, according to Prego. He said after the meeting that it could last the entire summer leading up to the start of the 2025-26 school year and prevent anyone from entering the building.
Project specifications identify more than 3,000 square feet of asbestos to be removed from areas that include the gymnasium, cafeteria, rooms and classrooms in the 100 wing and several rooms in the 200 wing. The document, presented by Prego, stipulates the work will be completed in two phases.
The project does not include the costs associated with replacing the materials that will be removed, such as floor tiles, ceilings, or plumbing fixtures, according to an email message received three months ago from district spokesperson Alexis Jenofsky. It states that these costs will be presented to the facilities committee for further discussion and approval.