Allegheny-Clarion Valley is getting the ball rolling on its modernization plan.

The school district board approved three contracts for renovations and upgrades at its Monday, Aug. 18, board meeting.

The board had approved about $4 million worth of projects back in May.

The board awarded a $122,816 contract to Hile Excavating for the school district’s planned renovations of the football field.

The board awarded a $504,140 contract to ATT Sports for milling and resurfacing the school’s track and adding a new blue base color to it.

The board also awarded a $64,686 bid to Grossman Construction to upgrade district parking to fully meet U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

David McDeavitt, A-C Valley’s superintendent, told the Butler Eagle his district is looking to get the three projects started in coming weeks. Work will in late August and early September, he said.

“We are also going to start the auditorium this fall too, it will be going out to bid early next week,” McDeavitt said.

A-C Valley’s head of maintenance, James Best, said at the board’s Aug. 18 meeting he was waiting for the companies to get back to him with timeline details, but expects Monday as a start date.

The football field, which was built in 1965, has never been renovated. The field hasn’t hosted a varsity football game since 2021, with the Union/A-C Valley co-op team playing their games at Union High School near Rimersburg.

The project will fix uneven terrain, reroute electricity, and install new sod and grass. When the project was approved, the whole project was estimated to cost anywhere from $261,000 to $751,000.

Plans for the auditorium — also built in 1965 and in need of upgrades, will include new seats, entirely replacing the stage, a new curtain system, electrical and technology work, floor tiling and a new lighting system. The indoor renovation is estimated to cost $1.68 million.

Construction related to a new roof for the auditorium could add an additional $400,000.

Other planned projects further down the road include fixing the high school’s varsity track, which currently has big cracks in it. It will need asphalt resurfacing, which could cost $610,000.

Another project McDeavitt specifically said was of importance is making adjustments to the elementary school’s parking lot. He said the district will widen the student drop-off and pickup areas to “ensure the safety of the students coming and going.” The estimated construction budget is slightly over $230,000, due to cracks forming and the need for the lot to be milled and paved.

The district plans to take out a new bond to fund these projects. The plan includes refinancing a separate bond previously taken out for a 2018 elementary school project. Originally, the bond was set to be paid off in 2028.