Chaney's furniture will cost $500,000

The Chaney renovation/expansion project should be completed by fall 2007.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Furniture for the Chaney High School renovation and expansion project will cost more than $500,000.
The city school board awarded three contracts this week to equip the building with new furniture.
Continental Educational Environments of Columbus was low on the base bid with $448,580 for general furniture items.
Library Design Associates Inc. of Powell, Ohio, was awarded a $41,325 contract to provide furniture designed specifically for the school Media Center, while Wenger Corp. of Owatonna, N.M., received a $35,479 contract to supply specific furnishings for the music department.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission is picking up 80 percent of the cost, said Tony DeNiro, assistant superintendent for school business affairs.
Renovation program
Chaney is one of 13 city school buildings being renovated or replaced in a $202 million building program. Chaney's portion of that cost is expected to reach $25.5 million.
Earlier this month, the school board voted to seek bids for removal of asbestos at Chaney, a job that is expected to exceed $400,000.
The project is on schedule and the renovation is expected to be completed by fall 2007.
In a related matter this week, the board approved the design plan for the proposed $10.4 million renovation of the Choffin Career & amp; Technical Center and authorized the preparation of construction documents for the project.
Construction documents should be completed by August, and the project can go out for bid in late fall, said Steve Ludwinski of Heery/Amec/G. Stephens, project architect.
Construction would then begin in early 2007, but the job likely won't be completed until the end of 2009, Ludwinski said.
The renovation process will take about 18 months longer than might be expected because Choffin will remain occupied during the construction process, he said.
Moving pupils
The school district is looking at a number of scenarios to move pupils around as the work progresses, Ludwinski said.
Youngstown already has completed the Taft, Harding, West and Williamson elementary school projects, and a new East High School and a new P. Ross Berry Middle School, both on the East Side, are under construction.
Redesign work is being done on the five remaining schools on the list: North and Bunn elementary schools, Volney Rogers Middle School and Woodrow Wilson and Rayen high schools. Wilson and Rayen are being converted to middle schools. The district will have only two high schools in the future -- Chaney and East.
gwin@vindy.com