Residents should attend Seneca Valley’s school board meetings
Seneca Valley plans to make its case and reveal details for a project that will connect the existing intermediate and senior high schools at 5:30 p.m. at the Seneca Valley Intermediate High School auditorium.
The building construction cost limit approved by the Seneca Valley school board in August is $114.65 million, but the limit for the entire project, including costs after the fact, is $165.89 million.
People who live in Seneca Valley School District’s coverage area may want to attend the meeting Monday, even if they don’t have children who attend a school in the district and even if they don’t necessarily have any gripes with the project.
It’s just good practice for citizens of any school district or community to learn about how taxpayer money is spent and discussed.
A few of the school districts within Butler County have initiated building projects in the last five years that have cost several million dollars. But those projects don’t happen overnight. They are discussed regularly at school board meetings where public input is invited and required by the state.
Seneca Valley School District school board President Eric DiTullio said the district expects a 10% growth in its student population over the next decade and the upcoming project is to get ahead of that growth. The district also said it conducted a feasibility study that revealed the exterior of the intermediate high school — as well as mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems at the building — are “beyond their useful life” and require significant repair or full replacement. This includes the roofing system, which has reached the end of its life expectancy.
If you would like to stay abreast of the status of school facilities, go to a school board meeting. It might be a topic of discussion at any regular meeting.
— ET
