The Salisbury Township school board held an operations and finance committee meeting Oct. 9 to discuss updates to the master facilities plan and the plan’s workflow process, as well as outline 2025 proposed summer project recommendations.

The board also received an overview of the budget timeline and audits.

Andrew Mather, D’Huy Engineering project manager, presented an updated master facilities plan noting cost updates which reflect 2024 pricing and future project pricing adjustments at a 4% inflation rate. He also mapped out a 5-year project plan which includes the Salisbury Elementary School library reconfiguration, several concrete replacement projects across the district, upgrades to fire alarm systems as well as a full upgrade of the Salisbury High School HVAC system slated for 2029.

Mather also reflected on projects completed in the last five years and remarked on the progress made to keep the district’s schools in good condition.

He also briefed the board on the estimated cost for the library reconfiguration project which was initially priced at $361,000. The scope of the project has expanded to include new LED lighting, a new grid and ceiling tiles resulting in increased construction costs by $61,000. The current estimated cost of the project is $469,300 which will go out to bid before the end of the year.

Directors Laura McKelvey and Thomas Spinner questioned Superintendent Lynn Fuin-Hetten about the increase and asked where the extra money will come from. Fuini-Hetten replied there were several places the money will come from but for the most part grant money will cover the costs as well as money from the recent sale of district land.

Director of Facilities Bill Brackett presented the summer 2025 proposed projects starting with the middle school gym which recently received new bleachers and fresh paint. Brackett would like to finish the project by stripping the gym floors and refinishing them as well as lining the court for volleyball and adding stanchions. Several board members voiced support for this project.

The next project, replacing the chiller in the high school and a reconfiguration of the HVAC system in the cafeteria, is contingent upon receiving grant money in the next few weeks. If the district does not receive notice of grants being awarded the project will be pushed back to 2026.

The library reconfiguration is also proposed for the summer of 2025.

Additional potential projects being researched include ceiling grid and tiles surrounding the library at SES, replacing carpets with luxury vinyl flooring in the upper pods at SES and in middle school classrooms.

Replacing the fire monitoring system at the middle school and replacing asbestos-containing building materials flooring at SES in the gym, cafeteria and hallways are also under consideration and could be financed through grant money.

Fuini-Hetten continued the presentation by providing a document outlining the workflow process for master facilities projects, which delineates who is responsible for planning and executing each step and reviewing the progress of each project as it moves toward completion.

During the finance portion of the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Dawn Nickischer presented a tentative Act I Index budget timeline. Administrators and department heads will receive a budget template by the end of October which they will work on throughout November. One-on-one meetings will be scheduled to review budgets with a completion goal of December. The actual work of building the budget will commence in January 2025 keeping Pennsylvania Department of Education timelines in mind.

Nickischer reported the financial audits are moving ahead of schedule and should be completed by the end of November which will provide the board useful financial information so they can make responsible fiscal decisions.

The next operations and finance committee meeting will be held 7 p.m. Nov. 6 in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.