Pa. rejects effort to stop high school work

JAMESTOWN, Pa. -- The superintendent of the Jamestown Area School District said an appeal by a group trying to halt work on a high school improvement project has been turned down by the state.
Superintendent David Shaffer said Thursday that the Pennsylvania Department of Education denied the appeal and has announced that it will help fund the $7.8 million project.
The board approved the project and awarded contracts this summer and the job already had begun when several incoming school board members sought an injunction in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to stop the work, arguing that they want to reduce the size of the project by $2.5 million but that allowing the project to proceed before they take office could jeopardize their plan.
The court denied the injunction request and the group took a different approach, challenging the legality of the contract awards based on the time line of when the state approved the project and contracts were actually approved.
That appeal went directly to the state education department.
Shaffer said he and other school officials took documentation to Harrisburg last week to oppose the appeal and the state backed the school district.
The state is expected to reimburse Jamestown about 30 percent for the annual debt service on construction costs.