Upper Darby SD committee recommends moving forward with solar projects at Hillrest and Stonehurst

Marvin Lee, director of operations for Upper Darby SD, told the Finance & Operations Committee the district has been awarded about $2.4 million from the Pennsylvania Solar for Schools grant and presented a recommendation to proceed with solar installations at two schools — Hillrest and Stonehurst — as the best return-on-investment combination.

Lee said a federal investment tax credit (ITC) valued at roughly $2.3 million is available only if the district incurs at least 5% of project costs by July 2026. That ITC, Lee said, materially improves the district’s net project costs but roofing repairs and replacements remain the single largest cost driver and previously had been estimated at about $4.2 million across affected sites.

To reduce costs, Lee described an alternate bathroom-renovation method piloted in Hillrest’s lobby bathrooms. The pilot cost about $60,000 for two lobby bathrooms and the administration reported vendor estimates of under $500,000 to resurface more than 30 bathroom spaces at Highland Park using the alternate approach, versus a $3.5 million low bid for full demolition-and-rebuild at that school. "We were able to test a new method at the Hillrest Elementary School lobby bathrooms over summer 2025," Lee said, noting the work took about a week and generated positive feedback from facilities staff and school leadership.

The presentation broke project costs into columns: total panel cost, combined subsidies (state, federal and PICO), net solar cost, roofing cost to obtain a 20-year warranty, and estimated annual electricity savings used to calculate simple payback years. Lee identified Hillrest and Stonehurst as the recommended two-school package for summer 2026 because, he said, that pairing offered the most favorable simple return on investment given current assumptions.

School-specific roofing estimates in the presentation were: Hillrest roughly $28,000 to reach a 20-year warranty with limited disruption, and Stonehurst about $416,000 to address the low roof (the upper roof needs little work). Lee warned the low roof work at Stonehurst would likely require about 20 people on the roof daily for approximately two weeks, with associated noise and temporary disruption.

Board members asked procedural and procurement questions: roofing bids would likely be issued in the fall with work targeted before Thanksgiving if feasible, and CoStars was described as a state-approved procurement method/list of preapproved vendors. Dan and Craig clarified that the state grants are awarded and currently earmarked for the district, that the district typically submits completed projects for reimbursement, and that the state grant funds would remain available through June 2028 for eligible projects. Craig said the federal ITC has the earlier July 2026 operational threshold that affects whether the district can capture that credit.

Members also raised practical concerns about long simple payback horizons for some buildings (20–25 years life expectancy for panels vs. the predicted payback for certain schools), the timing of roof replacement relative to panel life, and the need to inspect plumbing when using the alternate bathroom method to avoid future leaks. Lee said the presentation used conservative energy-savings assumptions and that real-world escalation in electricity prices would shorten payback timelines compared with the simple calculations shown.

Meredith Heg, a resident who addressed the committee during public comment, urged the board to "seize this opportunity," saying she was "so excited" that the administration had reconsidered moving forward and that the projects would give Upper Darby students access to solar and associated environmental benefits.

Mr. Rogers recapped the agenda at the close of discussion and asked whether the board was comfortable moving Hillrest and Stonehurst forward; several board members voiced agreement. The committee did not record a formal roll-call vote in the transcript; Mr. Rogers said the administration will proceed with next steps if authorized, including fall bidding and coordinating roofing work to minimize school-day disruption.

Next steps described in the meeting: the administration plans to bid roofing work in the fall, pursue roofing completion before Thanksgiving when possible, and target construction for the recommended schools in summer 2026. The administration also cautioned that if the district defers four additional schools beyond the two recommended, it would remain eligible for state grant reimbursement through June 2028 but may not be able to capture the federal ITC unless the July 2026 threshold is met.