Entrance doors of Ringing Rocks Elementary School, Kauffman Road.

POTTSTOWN PA – The final, and now accepted, proposal for reconstruction of the Pottsgrove School District‘s Ringing Rocks Elementary School is four classrooms smaller and about $1.5 million cheaper than the plan discussed earlier this year by the district Board of School Directors. It voted during a special meeting last week (July 20, 2010) to approve bidders for the project and get the work under way.

District Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis, in a statement released Wednesday (July 28), indicated there was strong competition for the project from hungry contractors who did their best to submit bids they hoped were competitive. As a result, he said, bids came in about 10.5 percent lower than the expected construction estimate of $14.5 million.

In addition, after months of a see-saw debate over how many – if any – new classrooms were needed at Ringing Rocks to ensure room for future growth, Landis reported board members rejected an option to build four new classrooms on the west wing of the school at 1401 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA. They would have cost an extra $515,000.

“Current economic conditions as well as updated enrollment projections impacted the decision to not build these classrooms at this time,” Landis said. The Ringing Rocks re-build will still include five new rooms for class expansion and what has been labeled as “program equity,” a term that defines space to be dedicated for specialty subjects like music or art which already exists in other Pottsgrove elementary schools.

Once financing, contingencies and other costs are added in, what was estimated during March (2010) by district architects as a $17.1 million total project cost now should stand somewhere around $15.6 million.

Winning bids awarded by the board were for:

• General construction services, to E.R. Stuebner in the amount of $6,524,000;
• Plumbing services, Vision Mechanical Inc., $742,200;
• HVAC services, Landmark Services Company LLC, $2,841,033;
• Electrical services, MJF Electrical Contracting Inc., $2,024,700; and
• Fire protection services, TMI Commercial, $141,300.

Landis also confirmed the district finalized its lease with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for use of the former St. Pius X High School property on North Keim Street. It will be home to Ringing Rocks students and teachers during the construction period.

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• Ringing Rocks Bids Accepted, At $1.5 Million Less
• Final Words On Ringing Rocks: Okey-Dokey
• Ringing Rocks Gets Final Plan OK
• Borrowing Authorized For Ringing Rocks Project
• Pottsgrove Signs Pius Lease For Ringing Students
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Pius Lease For Ringing Relocation
• Call Goes Out For Ringing Rocks Construction Bids
• Board OKs Ringing Rocks’ Preliminary Plans
• School Vestibule Design OK; No Decision On Rocks’ Relocation
• Ringing Rocks Plan Approval Held Until May
• Ringing Relocation Decision Deferred Again
• Township Legal Move Saves District Time, Money
• Economic Tales, Exec Sessions, And Long Night At Pottsgrove
• Geothermal Now ‘Locked’ Into Ringing Re-Build
• How Estimated Costs For Ringing Shape Up
• Less Is More In School Project, Planners Learn
• Bids Sought For Ringing Project Asbestos Removal
• Ringing Relocation Decision Possible In Two Weeks
• Restaurant, Ringing Projects Win Conditional Uses
• Ringing Rocks, Restaurant Hearing Topics Tonight
• Pottsgrove Student Enrollment: Up? Yes. Down? Yes Again
• Green Discussion At Ringing Results In Red Faces
• Pottsgrove, Archdiocese Still Discussing Pius Lease
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Discussion Set For Tonight
• In The Ringing Rebuild, Whither Pius?
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Plan: Modulars At MS
• Ringing Rocks Construction Cost Hearing Tonight
• Planners OK Ringing Rocks Land Sketch
• District Sets Dec. 3 Hearing On Rocks Budget
• 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

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS