Mar 19, 2013 2 min read

McMURRAY – Peters Township School Board discussed spending, or possibly spending, lots of money during a meeting Monday.

PTA Area Council requested a new high school, citing overcrowding and security concerns, and then there’s the issue of replacing the stadium’s aging artificial turf.

In an effort to save money and to add another $3 million to the general fund for building projects, the school board authorized a $9 million bond, $6 million of which was a refinancing of a 2008 bond at a nearly 2.9 percent interest rate for 15 years. Recalling and reissuing the bond at a lower interest rate will save the district nearly $400,000.

The bond is on top of a $5 million bond issued last year to finance a $2.5 million project to rehabilitate the athletic fields above Pleasant Valley Elementary School. The remainder of that bond was to finance correction of a pyrite issue at McMurray Elementary School. No action has been taken on the pyrite problem, with a less expensive fix a possibility.

As for the remaining $3 million from the bond authorized Monday, the district has three years to use the money for capital projects.

Currently, the district has a borrowing limit of an additional $30 million, with the amount increasing as the already issued bonds are paid down.

In other action, the board:

• Created positions for six tutors, if needed, with the option of adding more for an after-school tutoring program to assist students in preparing for the Keystone Examinations. The total cost is expected to be $1,600. Three teachers are for Algebra I, two teachers are for biology and one teacher will tutor students in literature. The exams cover only those three subjects.

• Amended the collective bargaining agreement between the district and Peters Township Federation of Teachers to offer an early retirement incentive to change the minimum retirement age from 62 to 60 and to change the minimum years of service from 33 to 30. Additionally, teachers planning on taking the early incentive must notify the district by May 1.

• Approved the Western Area Career and Technology Center annual budget of $6,233,351. The district’s share is estimated at $140,307 for 16 students. The share is a reduction of $20,204 from the previous budget because fewer Peters Township students are attending WACTC.

• Made Caralee Rabe lead custodian at the high school at $17.60 an hour, and hired Petrina DeNillo as a part-time secretary at the high school at $13.96 an hour.

The next regular board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. April 15.