CLEARFIELD – Before the beginning of the upcoming school year in August, new traffic patterns will need to be developed for the Clearfield Area High School, as it will be undergoing a $36 million renovation and expansion project.
At Monday night’s school board meeting, Interim Principal Tim Janocko said the school will neither have parking nor bus and student drop-off areas in the rear of the high school. The building’s rear parking lots and drop-off areas will be shut down with it being on the construction side.
Currently, Janocko is considering establishing a “gold lane” for student drop-offs in front of the building to reduce traffic issues between buses and vehicles. In addition, he’s considering the possibility of crossing guards there and at the bottom of the school’s driveway for safety purposes.
“Everything is going to be in the front (of the school). The back is being shut down. We’re putting everyone at one side of the building,” he said.
He said the school may have to limit student driving as well, while parking spaces will be limited during the high school project. He said the school wants to accommodate as many as possible, but if it must limit student driving, seniors will be given priority and then juniors.
During his administrative report, Janocko said the athletic complex improvements were in full swing, and the artificial turf had been installed on the football field. He said contractors were preparing to pour the track and also working on improvements to the tennis courts.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas B. Otto addressed electrical issues that occurred during the stadium improvements. He said electrical lines were buried underground and not within a conduit, and they were discovered when concrete was being poured for a new sidewalk near the concession stand.
Otto said the electrical line was “spliced” and concrete was poured over it after it had been repaired. He said they discovered that the stadium lights weren’t operable when they checked them afterward.
According to him, Grace Industries Inc. has accepted blame and removed the concrete and replaced it without any additional expense to the district. However, he said he authorized $25,000 for the stadium’s electrical lines to be placed within conduits to prevent this issue from reoccurring later on.
“I figured the lights are on many nights for different activities,” said Otto. “The project is moving so fast and nearing completion.”
Otto said they ran into some issues with the soil, and those were paid with contingency funds. He advised the board he’d been approached by a contractor about installing a new sound system at the cost of $19,700. He said he couldn’t authorize this expense but believed it would have been negligent on his part if he didn’t approach the board about the offer.
Janocko said the athletic complex improvements should be completed by mid-August.