The Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board voted to spend almost a quarter of a million dollars on facility upgrades during the April 21 board meeting. Directors voted unanimously on four projects.
Board members voted to convert the high school auditorium’s house lights from dimmable 500-watt incandescent bulbs to dimmable 50-watt LED lamps.
Director Rashi Akki explained that the new lights are easy to care for.. Switching to the lower wattage, she said, will “reduce the load on electricity, but it will also reduce the load on replacement. The [new] lights will have a much better lifetime. This is a really good move for us.”
An estimated 80-85 percent of the current bulbs are burned out. Changing them can be precarious because they are 40 feet up.
The cost is $64,098; $40,398 for the bulbs and $23,700 to have them installed.
Directors also voted to spend $24,956 to replace the electronic control gas system at the bus garage. Again, the cost is two parts: equipment and labor. The equipment cost is $12,106, and another $12,850 is to have the equipment installed, tested, and certified.
Akki said the current system is already broken, so the district has been dealing with a workaround solution. The work will take a few months, so now is the time to get what’s needed to be ready for the next school year.
All-day kindergarten, which is to start next school year, is going to cost. But Akki said the bids for the new furnishings have come in below the $35,000 budgeted for each of the four elementary schools.
The total cost is $102,141. The breakdown per school is $23,940 for Chadds Ford Elementary, $29,555.22 for Hillendale, $17,820.51 for Pocopson, and $30,825.60 for Unionville.
Pocopson and Unionville Elementary Schools will be getting an upgrade to their water fountain/hydration stations at a cost of $39,226 total. Akki said the current systems are 20 years old, and the newer filters are smaller and have lights to indicate when the filters should be changed. “They will also help reduce both the lead and the PFAS.”
PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, synthetic chemicals that can contaminate drinking water
The work will be done in-house to save costs, Akki said.
At the end of her facilities report, Akki said there has been a lot of discussion on choosing an architect for the middle school project. She said Director of Facilities James Whitesel has a team pulling together all the architects from whom the district will be soliciting bids.
“I think we’re making really good progress on that,” she said.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
