The Panther Valley School Board has hired four contractors to transform its vacated high school swimming pool into middle school classroom space.

Collectively the bids total $3,856,019.The construction work will be done by:• General Construction - Bracy Contracting, Allentown, $2,277,719.• Plumbing Construction - JBM Mechanical Inc., Nazareth, $284,200.• Mechanical Construction - Frey Lutz Corp., Lancaster, $625,800.• Electrical Construction - Ace Electric Inc., Allentown, $668,300.The school board previously said the transfer of the pool into classroom space is less expensive than constructing a new building. A new elementary building would cost an estimated $15 million.The construction bids for the conversion of the pool came in lower than anticipated, the board said. Rough estimates were that construction costs would be $4,471,495.Among the major accomplishments for the new building will be elimination of 12 modular classrooms at the Nesquehoning Elementary School and alleviating over-crowded conditions, also at the elementary school.It will mean a re-configuration of classes. Presently grades 1-6 are in Nesquehoning, grades 7 and 8 are in the Middle School, and grades 9-12 are in the high school.Under the new setup, kindergarten through third grade will remain at the present elementary school in Nesquehoning, grades 4-6 will relocate to the present middle school, grades 7-8 will occupy the new classrooms, and the high school classes will stay where they are.The district had 1,781 pupils in the 2012-2013 school year, and had inadequate classroom space. By the 2020-2021 school year, it is projected the district will have 1,960 pupils, necessitating seven additional classrooms.The present capacity for the district is for 1,697 students.If all goes as planned, the new addition will be ready for occupancy by the start of the 2015-2016 school year.The construction bid includes an alternate to the contract, which is removing existing hallway lockers and replacing them with new solid plastic wardrobe lockers in specific locations.The board did not agree to an option that would have included roof replacement to the existing gymnasium, an option that would have cost up to $470,000 additional.