POTTSTOWN PA – A public hearing on the budget to renovate and re-build Ringing Rocks Elementary School – which covers its proposed cost, but not the design itself – has been scheduled next month by the Pottsgrove School District, despite the objection of one school board member who later said he considered the stated amount too high.
Front entrance at Ringing Rocks Elementary School.
The district Board of School Directors, during its meeting Tuesday (Nov. 10, 2009) at Ringing Rocks, 1401 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, voted to schedule what is known as an “Act 34 hearing,” named for 1973 legislation that amended the Pennsylvania School Code. The hearing is necessary for the district to apply for partial reimbursement of the $17.84 million its says it plans to spend on the project.
The hearing has been set for for Dec. 3 (2009; Thursday) at 7:30 p.m. in the Ringing Rocks gymnasium. Spoken or written testimony from members of the public, for or against the project, will be accepted. A 28-page booklet describing “physical, administrative, budgetary and fiscal matters relating to the project” is available for inspection at the district offices, 1301 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, and also can be downloaded from the district website.
- This event has been added to The Post calendar.
The cost being presented to the public and submitted to the state represents a “not-to-exceed” number; that is, the board pledges it won’t spend more than that amount unless it holds another hearing and obtains new authorization.
The sole dissenter in the board vote was Director Robert Lindgren. Lindgren has consistently supported and still favors the elementary school’s renovation and expansion. After the board meeting, however, he said he considered the maximum “number too high. We started out talking about a $15 million or $16 million project,” he noted.
It’s possible, Lindgren said, the final project cost could be significantly lower once its architectural drawings are finished and its plans approved. That will be determined in months to come, by committees on which Lindgren serves and, ultimately, by the board as a whole.
Board President Michael Neiffer was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ meeting of Nov. 10):
Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):
- Pottsgrove Asks State Help To Pay For Ringing Re-Build
- As School Opens, Progress On Ringing Rocks’ Project
- Surprise Enrollment Spurs Demographic Interest
- District Assembles Ringing Rocks Planning Team
- District OKs Architect Negotiations
- Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
- Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
- Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
- Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
- Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
- No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
- Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
- Framing The Rocks Discussion
- Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
- District Invites Public For Study Results
- A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept
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