Schools

PASD Board Approves Water Heater Purchase

The $82,500 purchase is part of an energy savings agreement.

The Phoenixville Area School Board gathered in the new administration building for a special meeting Tuesday.

Board members approved the purchase of a water heater for the high school and also gave the nod to several personnel appointments.

For the water heater, Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley said another company came in with a bid that was 4 percent less than the $82,500 bid of Reynolds Energy Services. However, there was a problem.

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“Unfortunately they would not guarantee that the water heater would be in before the opening of school,” Fegley said.

If the district went with that bid, renting temporary hot water trucks would cost $10,000 per month. That would have negated any savings, Fegley noted.

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The water heater in the high school now is leaking, according to the superintendent, and that one was installed a decade ago with a five-year warranty.

“We did try to do a restart of the hot water heater,” Fegley said. “It leaked even more.”

The expense of the water heater was rolled into the district’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement.

“It is the easiest way for us to get the job done quickly,” Fegley told the board.

A 9-0 vote amended that agreement Tuesday to add in the water heater cost. Board Vice President Debbie Dawson said the current heater may have lasted another year while leaking, but the district would have been taking a risk of losing the heater during the school year.

“This is a good move,” Board President Paul Slaninka said.

In personnel news, the board approved several personnel appointments. Stephanie Sturdivant was formally appointed Dean of Students at the high school. She comes to PASD from Radnor High School.

Keya Champagne-Lee will take over for the retired Virginia Salava as principal at Barkley Elementary. Champagne-Lee is currently the vice principal at East Norriton Middle School. 


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