The Altoona Area School Board approved a number of building projects at its meeting Wednesday, including a roof replacement at Baker Elementary and a gutter and downspout replacement at Pleasant Valley Elementary.

Both projects were awarded to Mid-State Roofing and Coating Inc. and will be completed over the summer months, Superintendent Brad Hatch said after the meeting.

Baker Elementary’s shingle roof will be replaced at a cost not to exceed $273,000 including contingency, according to the meeting’s agenda. The Pleasant Valley gutter replacement project will not exceed $60,500.

Both projects are being funded by the district’s capital reserve fund.

Hatch said Baker Elementary has had some leaking issues as the current roof is more than 25 years old.

“We’ve actually gotten beyond end of life and it’s in need of replacement,” Hatch said of the roof.

It’s a similar situation with Pleasant Valley Elementary’s gutters.

“We’re starting to experience some issues with those pieces,” Hatch said, adding the cost of replacing the gutters will only increase as time goes on, making now the opportune time for the project.

“We have been committing money over the past couple years to build that capital reserve fund for these types of projects,” he said.

During the meeting, the board also granted approval to retroactively apply for a $5 million public schools facility grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to upgrade the current mechanical, plumbing and sprinkler systems at Juniata Gap Elementary.

If the competitive grant is received, construction would occur throughout summer 2027, Hatch said.

Those systems are “very antiquated” and are approaching 30 years old, Hatch said. Finding parts for some of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems is becoming increasingly difficult, he said.

The grant requires a 25% match, which would work for the district since a project of that magnitude would cost between $6.2 million and $6.5 million, Hatch said, noting Altoona Area could essentially complete a $6.5 million project at a quarter of the cost if the grant is secured.

District officials should be notified about the grant within the next couple of weeks, Hatch said.

“That building — specifically with the electrical, plumbing and the HVAC — would fit the scope of the magnitude of a project at that school,” he said.

The board also approved a contract with Pyramid Engineering to provide an engineering design service and project management to replace the Altoona Area Junior High School’s boilers.

The board granted permission for administrators to advertise a request for proposal based on the engineering design. The bid information will be presented to the board for approval at a future date, Hatch said.

The total cost for the design service is not to exceed $16,000 and will be paid from the 2025-26 operating budget, according to the meeting’s agenda.

The boilers aren’t necessarily at the end of life, but they’re starting to fail, Hatch said.

“We are faced with the dilemma of either replacing them as needed or doing a project now that will allow us to get another 25 to 30 years out of the current system,” he said, noting the district’s philosophy regarding facilities is to consider its long-term needs.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.