May 21--PENN TOWNSHIP -- The Penns Valley Area school board took steps toward adding a biomass boiler system that could someday heat the high school with wood chips and switch grass instead of oil.

The heating system would cost about $1.4 million, but school board members and the district's physical plant director say it's questionable whether they'd move forward with the project if at least half the funding doesn't come from state and federal grants.

"If we have 50 percent grant money or outside funding, that's a trigger point for us that it's probably a pretty good project. We (would) want to move forward," said physical plant director Rob Pacella, adding that the decision becomes less certain if outside funding is between 25 to 49 percent.

Board member Chris Houser said if oil prices are above $2 a gallon, the district stands to pocket at least $100,000 in savings per year. Board member Henry Yeagley said there were other benefits to not relying on oil.

"We're not sending that money overseas. It's staying in the local community," Yeagley said.

Pacella said the biomass boiler system would be clean burning. It will take at least three years before a biomass boiler system could be installed, and Pacella said the district plans to form a steering committee for the project if it advances further.

As part of a grant application through the state Department of Environmental Protection, the board unanimously agreed to pledge $600,000 toward the project at its Wednesday night meeting.

The pledge came with two significant stipulations. The first stated that the district would receive the rest of the $1.4 million from outside sources, although board members said they'd consider later increasing their commitment from $600,000 to $700,000. And the second stipulation stated that $235,000 of the money the district pledged would come from state stabilization funds, which were part of the federal economic stimulus package passed earlier this year.

Those stabilization funds were headed their way as part of Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed state budget. But the Senate recently passed a bill that would cost Penns Valley about $491,000 in funding.

A budget compromise between Rendell and the Senate is expected, but the difference has complicated the budget process for Penns Valley and other school districts.

At Wednesday night's meeting, the board approved a preliminary $23.21 million budget that would require a 5.2 percent property tax increase -- the maximum allowed under Act 1.

Superintendent Brian Griffith told the board, "This is a worst-case scenario. And we're not going to go up anymore. We're only going to go down more."

A budget work session is scheduled for June 3, and the board has until June 30 to submit its final budget to the state.

Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619.

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