LEETONIA SCHOOLS Building cost increases $1.3M

The school is to be ready for pupils in August.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Construction delays have added $1.3 million to the cost of a new school building housing kindergarten through 12th grade, and officials hope the state will help pay it.
The board approved two change orders at a special meeting Tuesday, Treasurer Larry Syverson said.
A change order for $1,350,000 represents the difference in construction costs to the general contractor, Hively Construction of Canfield, from August 2001, the original completion date, and the current completion date of June, Syverson said.
The school is to be ready for pupils when classes resume in August, but the district must first have an occupancy permit.
The board hopes the state will help pay some of the additional costs.
"That's something we'd like to see happen, but I don't know if it's going to happen," said board member Doug Jones.
Numerous delays caused extension of the completion date.
Reasons for delays: Although some delays were caused by inclement weather, school officials have said many were because of problems related to state approval of plans and permits.
They said that, in one case, a permit application lay on a state official's desk undetected for several weeks, then architects and state examiners had to compare notes and iron out differences in their respective plans before the permits were issued.
Construction began in October 2000 after extensive site preparation that began in May.
Second change order: The board also approved a change order this week with no dollar amount.
Heating and electrical costs at the site during construction are usually covered by the general contractor, Syverson said, but, as the result of an agreement among the board, the Ohio School Facilities Commission and Heery International of Cleveland, the state-appointed construction management firm, the board agreed to cover those costs as they occur.
School officials have said the district could pay for construction delays by drawing from the $800,000 the Ohio School Facilities Commission approved for the project to cover inflation.
The school on Walnut Street will house about 900 pupils. It will replace three aging buildings -- the junior-senior high school and Orchard Hill and Washingtonville elementaries.