The Panther Valley School Board on Wednesday approved a $1.585 million loan to pay for roof replacement on the junior-senior high school.

Work has been continuing on the roof project, which caused an early dismissal Wednesday due to the smoke and odor of hot tar entering the school through a rooftop unit.

“The tar smell permeated the building. That will not happen again,” Superintendent Dave McAndrew told the board. “We’re going to do the rest of the tar on weekends.”

He thanked the Panther Valley staff, the Kistler busing company and cafeteria workers for coordinating the dismissal and ensuring everyone was fed.

The board approved the roof project earlier this year due to ongoing roof deficiencies and leaks into the building, which were covered under warranty by The Garland Co.

The company offered the district the roof membrane and adhesive at no cost, while the district paid for the labor and other materials, which came in at $1.59 million.

Business Manager Greg Gauronsky explained that going this route now ultimately saved the district millions in a fully district-funded roof repair down the road, if they had continued to only patch leaks.

“This project was funded entirely through debt resolution,” he said. “No grant opportunities were available.”

Also on Wednesday, the board approved two motions regarding restructuring its existing debt — bond/notes of $2.63 million and $930,000 — which allowed for the new loan for the roof, Gauronsky said.

Paving

The board also transferred $100,000 from the Capital Project Unreserved fund balance to the general fund balance to cover the high school parking lot paving project.

McAndrew thanked the Summit Hill, Lansford and Coaldale borough workers who helped with the paving project and also gave special thanks to board member Ron Yuricheck for leading the project.

The project is 90% complete, building and ground supervisor Scott Fisher told the board. The roofers were using part of the lot, and the remaining paving will be rescheduled when that job is complete, he said.