SCRANTON -- Frances Willard School in west Scranton is one of the school district's oldest buildings. At dismissal time, it's one of the busiest places in the city. Newswatch 16 approached parents about the district's plan to give its old schools new energy saving equipment.
"I believe what they`re going to try to do is going to be best for the district and hopefully what`s best for the taxpayers in the area," said Michael Cole of Taylor as he picked up his grandson from school.
District officials told Newswatch 16 the upgrades will pay for themselves through 20 years of cheaper utility bills.
"This is a $12.6 million project that`s going to be zero cost to the school district, great, at the time we need it," School Board President Bob Sheridan said.
Sheridan said the district is still finalizing a list of which of the 19 schools in Scranton will get an upgrade.
West Scranton Intermediate School is one of the schools on that list, plans are to install a new heating system and new windows.
"We have a lot of older buildings, a lot of older buildings with the roofs [that have] been giving us problems in the last five to seven years," Sheridan added.
The focus, Sheridan said, will be on the district's oldest buildings. The Scranton School District plans to release the complete list of schools, appropriately, on Earth Day.