School Board to Pass Budget, Vote on High School Project Construction Firm

The State College Area School Board will move forward with two developing processes on Monday: voting on the high school project’s construction management firm and passing the 2014 – 2015 budget.

State College Area School District spokeswoman Julie Miller says the district requested proposals for a construction management firm after State College voters approved the $85 million cost of renovating the high school.

Six construction firms submitted applications, which was then reduced to four possibilities that were brought in for interviews by the Citizens Advisory Committee. School board president Penni Fishbaine says the board observed the interview process, which was open to the public and filmed by C-Net.

The recommended construction management firm will be announced on Monday. If approved, they will “have a tremendous amount” of oversight responsibility for the high school project, Miller says.

Because of the cost of the project, which comes to a total of $115 million, state law required a public referendum. The referendum passed on May 20, authorizing a new 7.2% property tax to fund the extensive construction. For a home with an assessed value of $250,000, this comes to approximately $190 a year for the duration of the high school project.

This additional cost for taxpayers was one of the major influences on this year’s budget development process, school board member David Hutchinson says. Though the district was legally able to increase taxes by up to 2.1%, they opted for a lower 1.95% increase. For a home assessed at $71,300 this is an approximately $54 additional dollars per year. The full 2014-2015 agenda can be viewed here.

“The tax increase was very much a conscious decision,” Hutchinson says. “We didn’t want to ask too much of our citizens this year knowing that we were asking for a significant commitment for the high school. 

The approximately $126 million dollar budget has a millage rate of 39.5056 and was also shaped by rising pension and health insurance costs. Monday’s vote will pass the budget following months of discussion, though Miller says it may still fluctuate some depending on the state budget.

Also on Monday’s agenda is a five cent increase to the price of school lunches, an update on the progress of the high school project and an annual report from C-Net. The full agenda can be viewed here.