Mild winter delayed construction of new school

The mild weather this past winter actually slowed progress on the new primary school being built across from Shaler Area Elementary School on Scott Avenue, making the original completion date of December 2017 uncertain.

“Whywouldwebebehind?” school board member Tim Gapsky asked Tuesday. “Last year’swinterwasmild.”

Dan Kiefer, project manager with Massaro CM Services LLC, the company overseeing the work, said it was exactly the warm and cold fluctuations and the higher-thannormal temperatures that slowed progress. “Colder temperatures would have been better,” he said, adding that the warm weather made the site difficult to work.

Now, all contractors are working late to move the project forward, Mr. Kiefer said. In fact, workers were still at the site at 7 p.m. Tuesday when parents, teachers, board members and administrators gathered in the elementary school auditorium to talk about the project.

Greer Hayden, president of HHSDR Architects, the company that designed the school, showed slides and explained how input from residents and staff were considered during planning. The new building is 75 feet farther from Scott Avenue than the former Rogers Primary School it is replacing. Rogers Primary caught fire in April 2015.

The greater distance is for safety, Mr. Hayden explained as he spoke about plans for traffic flow, play areas, fencing and the secure front entrance vestibule. The twostory structure will be colorful and inviting for its kindergarten through third-grade students, and it will have a stage area surrounded by a cafeteria and gym large enough to hold regulation basketball games.

Aerial photos of the site, taken by a drone flown by Shaler Area High School senior Matt Lienemann, showed a retaining wall at the back corner of the site at the intersection of Clare Street and Hodil Road. Several residents said they didn’t like the look of the wall, but Mr. Hayden said it could possibly become a garden wall as suggested by one neighbor, Dorothy Petrancosta.

Later this month, a survey will be sent to residents asking for suggestions for names for the new school. All suggestions will be submitted to the school board, which will make the final choice.

As for when students will be moving into the building, Mr. Hayden said: “The timeline at this point is still fairly fluid.” A lot will depend on the the weather.

The timeline is dependent on many factors, however, “It will be in the best interests of our kids,” said Cynthia Foht, principal of the Rogers Primary School students, who have attended classes at the district’s Burchfield Primary School since the fire.

“All decisions will be made in the interests of our children, especially our very youngest students.”

Open houses and more town meetings will be held to discuss construction progress, school programs, busing and the opening. “We want the kids to feel like it is their new home,” Ms. Foht said.