ADAMS TWP — John Hays, general manager of construction for Thomas & Williamson Program Management of Pittsburgh, informed officials with Mars Area School District that the middle school project should be done sooner than planned.

Additionally, school board members approved more than $132,000 in change orders to be paid out of the project's contingency funding.

“The project is going very well,” Hays said Monday night. “Mr. Kolson and the teachers are all prepared for an earlier move than we expected.”

The middle school is in Phase 4 of five phases. Hays estimates the construction crew has about two more weeks on Phase 4 before moving onto the last leg of the project.

“The plan is to get it done, get the punch list done and get out of everybody's hair,” Hays said.

Hays told the school board the work crew is now dealing with weather that's cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon. The automated heating system isn't installed, so heating is being manually monitored for now.

According to Hays, two workers check the school in the morning and adjust the heat. They adjust it again around lunch time.

“(Just) until the automated system is all troubleshot,” Hays said.

Board President Dayle Ferguson asked Hays about the status of the school roof.

“The roof is fine,” Hays said.

Hays said the roof's 30-year warranty doesn't go into effect until final inspections are done. The inspection is done by the product manufacturer, not Thomas & Williamson.

Hays confirmed there has been some leaking, but most of it is not because of the roof. Hays said the skylights in the commons area are original — or about 50 years old.

“Once you disturb them, they start leaking,” Hays said.

Hays asked the board to approve a change order for new skylights in the amount of $14,373.

In addition to the skylights, he further asked officials to approve about another $117,949 in change orders for the middle school, bringing the total to $132,322. He reminded the board many of the items on the change order list were district-approved from the start of the project.

“We were working with a tight budget during bidding,” Hays said. “So we cut some things out that we knew we could put in later.”

Aside from the skylights, the package of change order requests covers things such as installing sinks in additional classrooms; moving reception desks in the main office; and replacing asphalt.

The board unanimously approved the list of change orders. About $196,415 remains in the district's contingency fund.

The district is also considering options for cleaning the terrazzo floor in front of the cafeteria.

Hays suggested the district consider purchasing a diamond blade that would cut through years of wax and dirt build up. He explained how the move would be cheaper than hiring someone to clean it, adding that the district would own the blade. The option is still being investigated.

Hays said a lot of work was done on the middle school over the summer. Still, he said the project has gone faster than expected.

“With all the projects I've done, this is the quickest we ever did one,” Hays said.