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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; At a 1 p.m. special meeting with two members absent the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board on Tuesday approved the last bit of paperwork needed related to a state Highway Occupancy Permit HOP, clearing the last hurdle on the way to signing contracts totalling $88.2 million for the construction of a new consolidated high school.</p><p>After the brief meeting with only one vote, Superintendent Brian Costello said official groundbreaking at the Plains Township site will be 11 a.m. this Friday, and predicted there will be visible signs of progress as early as next month. He said that barring any unexpected delays such as bad weather, the shells for the four classroom wings should be done by December so that contractors can complete the interior during the winter months.</p><p>That would likely make it difficult for any incoming new board members opposed to the high school to reverse course. A slate of people who have expressed concerns about the project submitted petitions to be on the May Primary ballot and if four won in the November election, they could join sitting Board Member Melissa Patla in forming a majority of opponents.</p><p>The HOP was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and requires improvements of several existing roads to accommodate an expected increase in traffic once the school opens. It sits on land framed on two sides by Maffett and Main Streets, with the Cross Valley Expressway visible below the elevation where the school will be built.</p><p>The permit requires additions of turning lanes or widening of lanes along Courtright Avenue and on Maple Street in Wilkes-Barre near General Hospital, on Maffett and Main, and on the ramps for the expressway at the River Street exchange.</p><p>Costello said the work is estimated at up to $2.5 million, but that the municipalities involved have been &#8220;very helpful&#8221; by applying for state multi-modal grant money. He said Plains Township has secured nearly $1 million in grant money, and Solicitor Ray Wendolowski noted another round of grants can be sought next year, potentially funding all of the road improvement cost.</p><p>Costello also said roadways for the new school have been given official names,with the main thoroughfare onto and off the campus dubbed &#8220;Wolfpack Way&#8221; and three smaller roads on campus named after the mascots of the three existing high schools: Mohawk Circle, Grenadier Circle and Crusade Drive.</p><p>Mark Atherton and James Susek were absent. Patla voted against the motion.</p><p>After the short meeting Costello took time to reaffirm his conviction that the new high school, combining grade 9-12 from Coughlin, GAR Memorial and Meyers high schools will save as much as $3.5 million a year in operating costs. He said the consolidation of all sport teams this fall into the new &#8220;Wolfpack&#8221; teams will save $600,000 to $800,000 in the coming school year.</p><p>He also said the district now has about 180 teachers, and roughly 25 would be working at GAR after the high school opens. renovations and upgrades at GAR, which will house grades 6-8, are estimated at $10 million. Making all the other elementary schools K-5 would free up space in building with growing enrollment in recent years, he added</p><p>A longer range goal would be to build a new stadium and athletic fields on adjacent ground of the new high school, which will take up about 22 acres of 72 acres purchased. If that happens, Costello said, the district&#8217;s current use of Memorial Stadium at Meyers would be reduced. He repeated his preference that all or most of Meyers be razed and converted to athletic fields and parking to serve the surrounding community.</p><p>The district has estimated demolition of Meyers at about $5 million.</p><p>Costello also addressed repeated criticism that the new school will be too big. He cited the district&#8217;s success in creating the STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy at Meyers several years ago, and the more recent CAPAA (Creative And Performing Arts Academy) at GAR. He predicted a business academy could be the next &#8220;small learning community&#8221; within the larger school.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Seven of the nine Wilkes-Barre Area School Board members attended a special meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday to approve paperwork for a state Highway Occupancy Permit. Approval meant the board could sign contracts for construction of a new consolidated high school. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_WBA-board-4-9-19-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Seven of the nine Wilkes-Barre Area School Board members attended a special meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday to approve paperwork for a state Highway Occupancy Permit. Approval meant the board could sign contracts for construction of a new consolidated high school. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mark Guydish | Times Leader </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>

Wilkes-Barre Area clears last hurdle to award school contracts