The Shaler Area School Board will vote next week to award about $4.6 million in contracts for work at the district’s middle school as it begins a process to borrow $7.5 million and restructure the district’s debt to pay for it and other capital projects.

The board is expected to vote at its March 18 meeting on four contracts for work at the middle school:

• $2,030,000 to Ramp Construction for roofing;

• $1,645,000 to R&B Mechanical for HVAC;

• $708,000 to A-1 Electric for electrical;

• $181,270 to CPP Enterprises for painting.

It would be part of $6.7 million in work at the middle school that also includes paving and updates to exterior doors and lighting.

In total, the district is looking at $8.1 million in capital projects for the next one to three years that includes projects at Reserve Primary School, Shaler Area High School and safety zones on three roads.

At Reserve Primary School, the district estimates that paving and upgrades to exterior doors will cost $1.1 million. School safety zone projects on Mt. Royal Boulevard, Burchfield Road and Marzolf Road are expected to cost around $200,000. At Shaler Area High School, auditorium and roof safety upgrades are projected to cost around $100,000.

The district has a $1.3 million state grant to apply toward the middle school, reducing the total funds needed from $8.1 million to $6.8 million. It is looking to borrow $7.5 million over 20 years to allow for increases in costs over time, business manager Kimberly Pawlishak said.

According to Pawlishak, the district will need to borrow money by June, when work at the middle school is expected to start. A restructuring of the district’s existing debt has been proposed to allow it to get new money to pay for the upcoming projects and provide temporary budget relief.

The proposal calls for restructuring five of the district’s nine existing bond issues. It would extend the district’s debt payments from ending in June 2040 to June 2047. The district’s debt payments would increase from about $105.9 million to $134.4 million.

Annual payments for the new $7.5 million borrowed would total about $13.8 million.

At the March 18 meeting, the board will vote to appoint the law firm of Dickie McCamey & Chilcote to serve as counsel and Piper Sandler & Co. as underwriter for the bond issue. It also will vote on a resolution that will allow the district to reimburse itself with money from the bond issue for spending planned to be paid for from the borrowing that may occur before the bond issue closes.

After approval of a bond resolution on April 22, bonds would go out to market between May and June with a closing date before June 30.

Because the district will be restructuring its existing debt, the bond issue is not expected to have an impact on property taxes, Pawlishak said. In fact, the district will save about $4 million in the first year and $3 million in the second year, followed by a net of about $200,000 each following year, she said.

The district’s 2026-27 budget will be the subject of finance committee meetings that begin at 6 p.m. March 18, April 22 and May 13.