Muhlenberg Schools Weigh $103K Asbestos Change Order

The Muhlenberg School District board is set to approve a $103,584 change order for asbestos removal at Muhlenberg High School when it meets tonight, Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The Committee of the Whole starts at 6:30 p.m. and the Regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m., both in the Lecture Hall at Muhlenberg High School, 400 Sharp Ave., Reading. Residents can speak before the board votes.

This is the Muhlenberg School District, the public school system serving Muhlenberg Township and Laureldale. It is a separate government from Muhlenberg Township, with its own board, budget and tax rate. The township commissioners were scheduled to vote last month on up to $9 million in bonds; that borrowing is the township's, not the school district's.

Asbestos at the high school

A change order is a written change to a construction contract that adds, removes or alters work and adjusts the price. Item 9.B asks the board to approve a change order "for the asbestos abatement at a cost of $103,584.00 for the Muhlenberg High School addition and renovations."

The attached memo from Marotta/Main Architects, dated October 2, 2026, and addressed to Ken Patterson, the district's director of physical plant, describes the work as change event GC-08, "2nd Floor A-Block Asbestos Abatement." It covers "full containment and removal of asbestos at blackboard mastic on the second floor of A-Block," with disposal and air testing "per OSHA standards." The memo says 29 locations of blackboards and mastic were abated.

The memo and the agenda do not state the total cost of the high school addition and renovation project, how much has been spent on change orders so far, or which fund will pay this one. The asbestos item is numbered GC-08, the eighth in what appears to be the general contractor's sequence of cost events; the earlier seven are not in the posted record. The asbestos itself is not new to the board. On Sept. 9 it approved Spotts, Stevens and McCoy for "bid phase services, asbestos abatement and construction oversight at the Muhlenberg High School" at $23,300 from the Capital Projects Fund, and the minutes of that night's committee meeting, attached to tonight's agenda, record Mr. Main of Marotta/Main Architects explaining that the item paid for bidding, oversight and testing of asbestos abatement on the first floor, an unforeseen condition "found with the second floor," so that work could be queued up early to get ahead of it.

The only figures for the construction contracts themselves in the posted record come from an earlier change order. On Aug. 12 the board's agenda carried $64,258.51 in change orders for unforeseen electrical items on the same project. The attached form for that item, Change Order EC-05 to Philips Brothers Electrical Construction, lists an original electrical contract of $5,410,000 and $6,255.74 in previously authorized change orders, and describes the current renovation scope as including the second floor of A-Block, the natatorium and the "Alt Ed" wing, 84,000 square feet. The two change orders the board has been asked to approve since August total $167,842.51; the posted agendas carry no running total for the project as a whole.

$67,225 for the new 5/6 middle school

Item 9.C asks the board to approve "ancillary supplies" for the new fifth- and sixth-grade middle school at a total cost of $67,225, paid from Capital Project Funds. A district memo dated October 7 from Patterson to Superintendent Alan Futrick lists the items: 42 appliances at an estimated $43,000, and hand dryers, paper towel holders, toilet paper holders and soap dispensers at an estimated $24,225. The memo says the project "enters the last three months of construction" and that it is time for the district to supply the general contractor with owner-supplied items called for in the construction documents.

The memo says these costs "do not increase the amount of the overall project," because they were already included in the project's soft costs. The overall project amount is not stated.

A Medicaid consultant paid from new revenue

Item 11.C asks the board to approve a three-year agreement with Mile 2 Consulting, LLC "to provide consulting services for participation in school-based ACCESS services." The contract describes the program in terms of the district's ACCESS and Medicaid Administrative Claiming reimbursements, meaning the consultant is paid to grow what the district collects from Medicaid.

The contract attached to the agenda, dated as of October 15, 2026, runs through December 31, 2029. The agenda item itself gives no amount. The contract does. The district would pay Mile 2 a $2,000 monthly fee, credited against a share of any increase in the district's ACCESS and Medicaid Administrative Claiming reimbursements above the 2023-2024 baseline year, when the district received $229,691. That share is 36 percent in fiscal 2026-2027, 33 percent in 2027-2028 and 30 percent in 2028-2029. Monthly fees are deducted from the share at a year-end reconciliation. If reimbursements fall instead of rise, the contract says the total service fee is zero and Mile 2 must return monthly fees that exceed the calculated total. The district can end the deal for any reason with 30 days' notice but would owe a termination fee based on the same revenue-growth formula.

A new administrative job

Item 7.A fills a newly created Food Services Business Administrator position at Muhlenberg Junior High School and appoints Cathy Salesky to it at a salary of $72,500, prorated, effective September 21, 2026. The agenda labels the post "newly created."

Other personnel items on the agenda:

• Two long-term substitute teachers: Kimberly Bray at Muhlenberg Elementary Center (a newly created position, $66,241, prorated) and Kendall Fischer at C.E. Cole Intermediate ($65,671, prorated, pending certification).
• Two custodians at $57,415 each, prorated: Abbey Boyer (second shift, Muhlenberg Elementary Center) and Ana Ramos (third shift, Muhlenberg High School), both effective October 19.
• Two retirements: Teresa Crumbliss, a cafeteria assistant at C.E. Cole Intermediate, effective December 23, 2026, and Kelly Piontek, a clerical assistant at the junior high, effective September 15, 2026.
• A Senior Aerospace Science Instructor for the Air Force JROTC at the high school, with an annual stipend of $7,500 for 2026-2027 on top of a salary set with the Air Force.
• New job descriptions for a District Content Creator, a Supervisor of Aquatics and a Certified School Nurse.

Seven policies up for adoption

Item 8.A would adopt seven district policies: 122 Extracurricular Activities, 122.1 Non-Sponsored Student Groups, 140 Charter Schools, 221 Dress and Grooming, 236.1 Threat Assessment, 325 Dress and Grooming and 332 Working Periods.

Policy 236.1 directs the superintendent, with the district's school safety and security coordinator, to set up a threat assessment team and procedures for "assessing and intervening with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community and others." Policy 140 sets out how the board will evaluate charter school applications under state law.

Also on the agenda

• A settlement agreement and release involving one student, listed as Student No. 41122. No amount is given.
• Financial reports for August and September, the disposal of outdated books as surplus, and closing the Class of 2026 student activity account with the balance moved to the Classes of 2027, 2028 and 2029.
• Seven new clubs, including Academic Challenge, Best Buddies, Ecology, Podcast and Travel, plus winter coaching assignments.
• A $500 Giant Food gift card and supply donation for Muhlenberg Elementary Center staff.
• Sunday use of the high school auditorium by the Church of Latter-Day Saints on November 8.

The Committee of the Whole agenda at 6:30 p.m. carries the same slate, plus committee reports and a first reading of two policies: 102 Academic Standards and 246 School Wellness. The 7 p.m. Regular Board agenda lists the same two policies for a second reading.

School district spending lands on local property tax bills, where the school portion is usually the largest piece. See our guide to how Berks County property taxes work and our explainer on how Berks County government is organized, which covers how school districts, townships and the county divide up what you pay.

How to attend or comment

Both meetings are Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in the Lecture Hall at Muhlenberg High School, 400 Sharp Ave., Reading, PA 19605, with the Committee of the Whole at 6:30 p.m. and the Regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m. Each agenda sets aside a Hearing of Visitors near the start and another near the end. The agenda asks speakers to state their name, any group affiliation, and whether they are a taxpayer or resident, and limits comments to two minutes per person. The comment period is for comments only, not a back-and-forth with the board. The board's next meeting is November 11 at 6:30 p.m., and its annual reorganization meeting is December 2 at 6:30 p.m.

We will post a recap once minutes or video from the meeting are available.