PASD Officials Endorse Prevailing Wage Bill

Citing potential savings and the ability to better compete in the marketplace, Phoenixville Area School Districts administrators and school board president Paul Slaninka spoke in favor of a bill proposed by local legislator Warren Kampf.

State Rep. Kampf (R-157) called a press conference Thursday afternoon at the school district’s administration building. He was joined by Slaninka, Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley, Executive Director of Operations Stan Johnson, general contractor Dan Donatelli of C. Raymond Davis in Kimberton and Matt Pincus of Pincus Elevator Company.

During this session, Kampf introduced House Bill 709, which would exempt school districts in Pennsylvania from having to pay prevailing wage for construction projects.

“It provides an option to school districts for mandate relief,” Kampf said. “It says to school districts that they are not a part of the prevailing wage rules unless they vote to be into it.”

Kampf said the bill was prompted by complaints he heard from the school districts in the area. All spoke about wanting mandate relief, and specifically relief from unfunded mandates passed down by the state and federal governments with no money tied to implementation.

“What they’ve said to me is their hands are often tied,” Kampf said.

Fegley echoed that sentiment. The district is currently building a $56 million middle school and has plans for a $26 million expansion of East Pikeland Elementary. A $3 million energy conservation project is also in the works. For that $85 million in construction, Fegley said the district could have saved approximately $8.5 million if prevailing wage was not mandated.

“That’s $8.5 million that could go back to the taxpayers,” Fegley said.

For the middle school project, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry, the district has to pay prevailing wage rates of $18 to $51 per hour, amounting to $38 to $79 per hour with fringe benefits included, per person.

The money could also be spent on education rather than facilities. Fegley explained that the savings would amount to approximately $600,000 per year, the equivalent of a 1.1 percent tax increase. That money could be spent on eight to 10 teachers, Fegley noted.

“That’s really where I’d rather be spending money if I have to spend money,” he said.

Johnson agreed, saying that school districts have been taxed with being more business-like, but haven’t been given the tools to be competitive. He also said that the projects could be done at the same quality without the prevailing wage rates.

“There’s no question that we could get the same quality of work on our projects, which is very important,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Fegley testified in favor of prevailing wage reform in Harrisburg last year.

Donatelli reiterated that, saying that his company often goes after private school projects rather than projects in the public sector because of the prevailing wage stipulations. He’s at times asked to bid projects both ways—with and without prevailing wage rates—for other projects, even though it’s the same quality of work either way.

“When there’s a prevailing wage, we tend to not go after those projects, even though we feel that we can put the same quality project out,” Donatelli said.

Pincus said work rules dictate a more expensive project with prevailing wage, citing a specific example where a helper can’t be hired on a job.

Calling Kampf courageous for proposing the bill, Slaninka said every person in the state could benefit from its passage.

“This bill benefits everyone. Every taxpayer in the state benefits from this bill because everybody lives in a school district and everybody living in a school district pays property taxes,” Slaninka said.

Slaninka stated that the school board supports the bill.

The bill is currently out of committee and will move on to the House floor. House Bill 709 has 46 co-sponsors.

“It may happen in the next couple weeks,” Kampf said.