IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Spring 2019 | Page 67

Your Brentwood School Board will soon start making some
important decisions about renovations needed in the district.
Our buildings were originally built 105 years ago (Moore School),
99 years ago (Elroy School), and 89 years ago (our Middle/High
School facilities). Additions have been added over the years, but
the last major renovations took place over 20 years ago in the late
‘90s and are showing their age.
The first areas to be address are the building “envelopes”: the
roofs, windows, and masonry that of our facilities. There’s no point
making interior renovations if the threat of leaking roofs and walls
remain, so we have given this a high priority. Even though the
structural renovations may not be visible, our roofing systems are
well past their warranty period, and the last installations weren’t
done correctly in many instances. These failures in the roofs and
windows have caused extensive damage this past year and caused
disruption to our classroom learning. Fortunately, most of the
repair has been covered by insurance, but additional damage will
not be covered.
Your board has three principles guiding the renovations.
Ensuring that the work is completed correctly, we have engaged
the architectural/engineering firm HHSDR, a well-regarded firm
that works with many school districts in our region. We are striving
to move forward in a financially responsible way and are focused
on minimizing the burdening on taxpayers, so we have hired the
financial advisory firm PFM (Public Financial Management) to
guide us in our financing options. Lastly, we want the renovations
to be a lasting improvement of our facilities for generations to
SCHOOL BOARD MESSAGE
come and improve the learning environment for our children,
while causing the least disruption to the current students.
The school board renovation committee and the full school
board have spent a good deal of time beginning the master
planning of our three campuses. The process will probably take
a minimum of five years for projects to be fully completed in a
responsible way, but it is work your board committed to seeing
through to its completion. The future of our district is in good
hands with our highly skilled teaching and support staff and
effective administrators, and now we need to ensure that our
facilities help them in their work and keep our students safe and
secure.
DISTRICT NEWS
New Personnel:
BBSD Welcomes
Mr. Jeffrey
George
The Brentwood Borough School District
is happy to welcome Mr. Jeffrey George as
the new Director of Facilities. He was hired
in November of 2018.
Mr. George is a graduate of Brentwood
High School and has been a life-long
resident of the Brentwood community
with his wife and two children. Mr. George
has been very active in the Brentwood
Athletic Association (BAA), the Brentwood
Dukes youth football program, and in
local youth basketball programs as a
supporter and as a coach. He is also an
active member of the Brentwood Borough
Zoning Board which supports the borough
on residential and commercial real estate
issues. Mr. George is also a former member
and past president of the Brentwood
Volunteer Fire Company (BVFC).
Mr. George came to the Brentwood
Borough School District via Duquesne
University. He served as a work leader of
the Duquesne University Maintenance
Department. He was with the university
for fifteen years with a wealth of
experiences in his expertise of plumbing,
heating, and cooling. While at the
university Mr. George was instrumental
in many building and facility renovations
and new construction as the university
grew during his tenure. Mr. George will be
bringing this knowledge and experience
with him as he starts his journey with the
Brentwood Borough School District.
Since arriving at the district, Mr. George
has hit the ground running. He oversaw
the improvements and renovation to
nine middle school classrooms that were
damaged during the heavy rains in the
fall. Mr. George has been instrumental in
the installation of the new gym floor in
the middle school that was damaged in
the same storm and had to be replaced.
He has been working with contractors,
vendors, and school personnel to oversee
construction and improvements in the
district. Mr. George has also been working
closely with the district’s maintenance
and custodial staff to review policies and
procedures and to plan for future projects
and growth within the department. We
are happy to have Mr. George with his
wealth of experience and background as a
member of our district team.
BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL
❘
SPRING 2019
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