Pine Street Elem. dealing with HVAC issues after board denies replacement

A Pine Street Elementary School classroom last week experienced a failed heat pump and an odor, leading to a second-grade class being moved to another room, after the school board postponed a decision to replace the school’s 58 heat pumps over the summer.

“Please know our School Board is prioritizing the facility needs at Pine Street Elementary School,” superintendent Bernie Kepler wrote in a letter sent to Pine parents and guardians. “Approval has been granted for the roof resurfacing to occur this summer. The replacement of classroom flooring has been approved as well. The Board is also continuing to review proposals from three mechanical contractors to address the mechanical systems pertaining to heating/cooling of the facility.”

He told LebTown on Monday that student and staff safety is the district’s No. 1 priority. They are using an independent contractor to conduct air quality testing and will move the students and teacher back to the classroom once the results determine there are no issues, he said.

Kepler said the second-graders are using a full-size classroom without an impact on teaching and student learning.

“This was an issue of one heat pump unit that had to be repaired by our maintenance team,” Kepler said via email. “That unit has been operational since the repair. We are just taking a precautionary route before returning to the classroom.”

This classroom adjustment comes after the school board postponed a decision to do HVAC work on the elementary school in a 6-2 vote, with Larry Geib and Sue Gilligan voting against the motion. The suggested contract was G.R. Sponaugle’s $2,144,475 proposal.

The board did not provide a date when the motion would be brought up again during that meeting, but Kepler told LebTown that mechanical system work will be brought back before the school board for consideration at their next meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at Lingle Elementary School. Meetings can also be attended via Zoom.

Kepler said during the Feb. 12 board meeting that there was a proposal that was $3,000 cheaper, but G.R. Sponaugle was the only one willing to commit to a deadline with a daily financial penalty if they failed to meet it.

District officials were looking for approval at the Feb. 12 meeting because the company set a deadline of Feb. 16 to put the project on the schedule so they could order materials, which could take 12 to 14 weeks to arrive. Officials said without approval at that meeting, the company could not guarantee a completion date before the start of the next school year.

The HVAC work would have replaced 58 units over the summer to have work completed by the start of the 2026-27 school year.

“We brought forward a proposal that would allow us replace every unit,” Kepler said after the February meeting. “That building was designed with individual heat pump units in every classroom.”

Administration brought forward the suggested work following a mold issue in the school last summer. Kepler said they discovered the mold, brought teams in, and addressed the issue before students were brought in. He said multiple tests came up clear, and they have not had any other mold issues since.

The board did approve a $1,986,971 roof restoration and a $392,600 floor replacement during the meeting.