Quaker Valley, Pa., school board members approved a $10 million bond resolution that district leaders would use toward purchasing land for a new high school.
The board approved the resolution Tuesday night, district spokeswoman Angela Conigliaro said.
Quaker Valley leaders have until Dec. 27 to decide if they want to buy a 128-acre site that spans Edgeworth, Leet and Leetsdale. Engineers deemed the property suitable.
The board approved the resolution, 8-0. David Pusateri was absent, Conigliaro. Jeff Watters voted by phone.
Board members entered a $7.5 million sales agreement this summer to purchase four properties that Three Rivers Trust had previously purchased with plans to build a home and farm. That plan was later moved to land in Washington County.
The current school in Leet, built in 1926, has its constraints and limits instructional programming, school leaders have said.
“Over the decades, QVSD has renovated and upgraded the high school to ensure it remained a useful educational tool for our district,” Quaker Valley Superintendent Heidi Ondek said in a letter to families. “We have now reached a point where no amount of modernization will allow our current high school facility to effectively meet the needs of QVSD students and educators and the rules and requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.”
He also pointed to past water issues in the building and troubles with students not being able to park close to the school. They want a school that offers easy handicap accessibility.
The $10 million bond resolution approval means the board can seek what leaders said will be “better rates” to finance the purchase if board members ultimately approve purchasing the land.
“Over the course of the loan, this could save the district hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Ondek said.
