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Charges dismissed against four Exeter Township officials

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LCCC holds culinary and hospitality information night

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Though not anticipating any construction in the foreseeable future, Wyoming Valley West submitted paperwork to the state Department of Education for two high-ticket projects: High school renovations and a new elementary school, at a combined estimated cost of $48.2 million.</p><p>&#8220;The district just wanted to get (the paperwork) in under the wire because of the proposed moratorium,&#8221; Superintendent Charles Suppon said, referring to Gov. Tom Wolf&#8217;s previously announced plan to place another moratorium on the state&#8217;s &#8220;PlanCon&#8221; system for partial state reimbursement of construction costs.</p><p>&#8220;We know we have to do something in the future,&#8221; Suppon added. &#8220;We haven&#8217;t done anything yet.&#8221;</p><p>Technically, the district did do one thing: Submit paperwork known as &#8220;PlanCon A&#8221; for each of the two possible projects. The submission puts the projects in line for any reimbursement somewhere down the road.</p><p>Earlier this year, the state Department of Education advised any district hoping for future reimbursement to submit PlanCon A by July 1. It was that warning that prompted Wilkes-Barre Area School District to submit paperwork for a high school consolidation project that has sparked public outcry.</p><p>There&#8217;s a big difference though.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Area has taken other steps to advance the project that would merge Meyers and Coughlin High School into a new building on the Coughlin site. Suppon said no other action has been taken or will be taken any time soon on the projects proposed in the Wyoming Valley West PlanCon documents.</p><p>Paperwork for the high school renovation calls for $25.9 million in renovations, including a new roof. The new elementary school is estimated at just under $22.3 million.</p><p>Suppon said the district is specifically mulling construction of a new school where Dana Street Elementary currently stands. The idea would be to duplicate the qualities of the recently renovated and expanded State Street Elementary.</p><p>If the project were to proceed, the district could end up with only two elementary schools, which Suppon said would be dubbed Wyoming Valley West South Elementary &#8212; the current State Street building &#8212; and Wyoming Valley West North Elementary, the new school at the Dana site.</p><p>&#8220;We talked about trying to really do something special like they did at State Street,&#8221; Suppon said. &#8220;Then we would close Third Street, Chester and Schuyler elementary schools.&#8221;</p><p>The school board has been grappling with the problem of aging buildings for about a decade. In 2008 the board hired The A&amp;E Group to conduct a district-wide feasibility study. The firm came back with 11 options ranging in cost from about $63.9 million to $111 million.</p><p>The board went for a more modest choice, expanding and renovating State Street for about $28 million.</p><p>That project was put into motion before former Gov. Tom Corbett declared a moratorium on the PlanCon system that ran from 2011 to last year. Wyoming Valley West has been anticipating about $3 million in state reimbursement, but hasn&#8217;t&#8217; seen any of it despite a brief window between the end of Corbett&#8217;s moratorium and the promise of one by Wolf.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">UNICO football game officials Earl Harris, left, and Chuck Suppon.  BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Suppon-charles.jpg</photo0><caption0>UNICO football game officials Earl Harris, left, and Chuck Suppon.  BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley West mulling $48 million in construction