Scranton board approves multi‑million dollar facility budgets, turf and scoreboard purchases and authorizes bond refunding

The Scranton School Board on May 6 approved a package of capital measures aimed at upgrading athletic, safety and facility infrastructure and authorized steps to refinance prior debt.

The board voted unanimously to authorize a resolution to issue one or more series of general obligation bonds or notes to refund outstanding 2016 notes and bonds and to pay issuance costs; the district's financial adviser estimated total cost of issuance at about $125,000 to $150,000. Director Gilmartin presented the resolution and identified the bond team, including Stevens & Lee as bond counsel, PNC Capital Markets as underwriter and Moody's as the rating agency.

In facilities work the board approved a $369,290.95 cooperative‑purchase contract with Keystone Sport Construction to replace the varsity field turf, a motion that passed 7–1 after discussion of drainage, existing seam wear and expected maintenance savings. Director Borthwick described the proposal as a full turf replacement and said the vendor reduced its earlier price after local benchmarking.

The board also approved purchase of an outdoor digital scoreboard, game clocks and a stadium sound system from Digital Scoreboards LLC for $439,000 plus a $6,000 annual software license and standard permitting/installation costs. Administration said the existing scoreboard and sound system are failing and that the vendor offers optional advertising services with a five‑to‑seven‑year return on investment; that motion passed 5–3.

Separately, trustees approved several construction and abatement budgets discussed at a prior work session. Those included a South Scranton Intermediate fire‑alarm and abatement package (financial impact stated as $1,157,770), a West High fire‑alarm and abatement package (amended to $1,459,668), boiler and related work tied to earlier sessions, and a district‑wide abatement budget revised to $2,304,872. Many of those projects will be submitted as part of the public school facility improvement grant requests and, as administration noted, contracts cannot be awarded until grant awards and public bidding are complete.

Board members emphasized procurement and oversight. During the bond discussion a board member asked for itemized counsel and underwriting fees; administration said those costs are standard components of issuance and can be rolled into the refunding. Directors also sought clarity on how scoreboard advertising would be handled; administration said the district could sell ads directly or opt into a vendor-managed program.

The board added a clarifying amendment to the district‑wide roof replacement vote, approving the budget but not authorizing design work now; the board recorded that action as a budget authorization only and deferred design engagement until a later decision.

What's next: Many of the line items approved Monday depend on grant awards, final public procurement and follow‑up work by administration and legal counsel. Officials said they will return with bid documents, grant award notices and contract specifics before any contracts are executed.