Moon Area School District to Demolish Bradley Drive Property

The Monday authorized the district to advertise and solicit bids to demolish the home purchased by the district in November.

The estimated cost of the project, which includes site improvement services, is $40,000. Costs of the project will be funded through the district’s 2010 bond fund.

The board approved the purchase of the home at 111 Bradley Drive, located near the district’s University Boulevard campus, at its Nov. 15 meeting.

Board President Sandra McCurdy said the home was purchased for $112,298.81.

The board also voted 7 to 2 to make public the district’s 2012 preliminary budget, which includes a 3.2 percent tax increase. Board members Jerry Testa and Ron Steele voted "no" on the measure. 

Board members will vote Jan. 23 on adoption of a preliminary budget.

Alan Bennett, director of fiscal services, said because district properties have not yet undergone an assessment, the preliminary budget was created using “trends and estimations.”  The district must post a version of its preliminary budget by Jan. 5.

“I’m not in favor of voting for a preliminary budget that posts a tax increase,” said McCurdy, who along with other board members indicated they would attempt to pass a final budget without an increase.

“By approving this posting, you’re not locked into anything,” solicitor Michael J. Brungo told board members. “The board can pull back from this posted budget any point and time moving forward.”

Board members also heard a presentation from Joseph A Reginella, president of Pittsburgh-based Reginella Construction Co., which has managed both the construction of the district's new high school and its middle school renovation. 

Reginella said setbacks in the renovation of could delay the building’s move-in date to June 25.

Teachers and staff members were originally slated to move classroom materials into the new building, which formerly served as the district’s high school, on May 1. The building will open to students in the fall.  

Superintendent Donna Milanovich said the delay could cause “significant problems for the district.”

Reginella cited a shortage of bricklayers and the delayed start of the construction as reasons for a possible delay in the move-in. He said parts of the building may be ready for a move-in by the May 1 deadline. 

Milanovich said district officials would have to organize a contingency plan if the move were delayed.

“This really isn’t acceptable,” Milanovich said. “In order for us to move into the building, we need to do that while the teachers are still here. Once they leave that’s going to incur costs for us.”