The North Hills School Board approved the award of construction contracts for the renovation of Ross Elementary School on July 19, 2010. Construction will begin following approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and will be completed prior to the start of the 2011-12 school year. 

Bids were awarded to the following:

·         General Construction:  Franjo Construction  $8,972,900

·         Asbestos Abatement:   Canfield Development, Inc.  $169,000

·         Food Service Equipment:  Commercial Appliance Contracts, Inc.  $192,922

·         Roofing:  Pennsylvania Roofing Systems, Inc.  $1,185,000

·         Plumbing:  Vrabel Plumbing Company, LLC  $979,200

·         Fire Protection:  Interstate Fire Protection Company, Inc.  $219,500

·         HVAC Construction:  East West Manufacturing & Supply Co. Inc. $2,509,500

·         Electrical Construction:  Allegheny City Electric, Inc. $2,233,020

·         Telephone/Data Wiring Contract: Information Technologies Services $215,677

The approved bids, combined with a construction contingency, totaled $17,310,434, $793,879 or 4.4 percent less than estimates that were approved by the school board for submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in April 2010. 

The Ross facility was built in 1963 and served as Ross Junior High School until the early 1980s when it became an elementary school.  The facility has never been renovated and still includes remnants of its days as a junior high, including kitchen appliances in the former home economics room and lab tables in the former science room.  The renovated facility will serve more than 500 students with an average of 20 students per classroom.

Ross Elementary students and staff will be temporarily relocated to the vacant Northway and Perrysville facilities during construction.  Students in kindergarten through grade 3 will be located at Northway Elementary and students in grades 4 through 6 will be located at Perrysville Elementary.  Students and their families will have an opportunity to tour the buildings on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010.  Information will be mailed to families later this month.

The first day of school is Tuesday, Sept. 7^th.