2nd phase of multimillion-dollar renovations at Plum Middle School to begin soon

More renovation work is set to begin at Plum Middle School after the district’s school board approved a slate of contracts totaling $3.4 million.

It’s the second phase of work at the school, after the initial chunk of renovations began last summer, according to Plum Finance and Operations Director John Zahorchak.

Totaling more than $1.2 million, the most expensive piece of the renovations will see the school’s entire roof replaced.

Zahorchak said the roof is more than 25 years old and leaking into certain parts of the school.

Parks Township-based Strongland Roofing Systems will take on the work as well as emergency repairs to sections of a leaky roof at Plum High School.

Also topping the million-dollar mark is a contract with Hermitage-based Hudson Construction Co. for changes to the front of the middle school building, Zahorchak said.

That work will include a new security vestibule, a modified office layout and more handicap-accessible infrastructure, he said.

The improvements at the middle school are a smaller piece of a $30 million, multiyear building project in the district that also includes renovations and an addition at O’Block Elementary School.

Though it has a comparatively low price tag — totaling a little more than $50,000 — one of the most visible changes to the campus will modify the middle school track.

For years, a section of the school’s football field has extended into a corner of the track, which has a concrete surface.

“It’s a safety issue,” Zahorchak said.

But the contract with Penn Hills-based Palombo Landscaping, Inc. will extend the section of the track away from the field, he said.

Zahorchak said the school board is still discussing whether to buy a cushioned track surface for the loop.

The remaining contracts mainly focus on improvements to the guts of the building, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical upgrades.

Zahorchak said most of the work should be complete ahead of the start of next school year.

Long a champion of the middle school, School Director Michelle Stepnick said the work at the school is “long overdue” but she’s glad to see its completion on the horizon.

“I’m super excited for our next phase,” she said.

The first phase of the improvements, which also mainly focused on internal infrastructure, cost the district $4.3 million, of which $1.9 million was covered by a state grant.