JAMESTOWN, PA. Request to stop project is denied

The plaintiffs said the board signed contracts before getting state approval.
JAMESTOWN, Pa. -- A Mercer County common pleas judge has dismissed an injunction request that would have halted work on a $7.8 million renovation-expansion project at Jamestown High School.
Judge Thomas R. Dobson ruled that an incoming board of school directors can't infringe upon the right of a current board of directors to conduct business.
Four school board candidates who won both Republican and Democratic nominations in the May primary and seem assured of winning seats in November sought the injunction to halt the work.
They argued that they want to trim the size of the project to about $7.5 million by eliminating the construction of a new gym and related facilities. If the project is allowed to go forward now, it might be too late to make that change when they take office in December, they said.
The four said they believe they will have a majority on the nine-member board because one current school director who voted against awarding the contracts has appeared to win re-election as well.
What's in ruling
Judge Dobson ruled Thursday that the actions of the current board don't impede an incoming board from making changes.
To allow an incoming board to control what a current board can do would bring government to a halt, he said.
Atty. Robert Kochems, representing the four incoming directors, said they haven't decided if they will appeal Judge Dobson's ruling
The four have contacted the state Department of Public Education asking about the legality of the current school board's signing contracts for the work before the state had officially approved the project.
That final approval came July 11, but the contracts were signed either June 30 or July 9, Kochems said.