Mt. Lebanon School Director James Fraasch last night formally presented to the rest of the school board a proposal that calls for delaying the significant renovation or new construction of the high school and doing only minimal maintenance work over the next several years.

Mr. Fraasch outlined his plan at the board's discussion meeting. The proposal, originally posted on his personal blog last month, calls for delaying a major project at the high school until 2017 or 2018, but raising taxes by one-half mill for each of the next three years and using the revenue generated by the tax hike to perform $10 million to $15 million in repairs.

After that, the funds would be put into a savings account to create a pot of cash that could be put toward the project in 2017 or 2018, when some of the district's other debt has been paid down.

Several board members commended Mr. Fraasch for the time he put into the proposal. However five school directors, Sue Rose, Josephine Posti, Elaine Cappucci, Dan Remely and President Alan Silhol appeared to still favor continuing with plans for major work at the high school in the near future, citing the declining physical state of the building.

School Director Mark Hart said he agreed with Mr. Fraasch's cautious fiscal approach and stated that he didn't think it was appropriate for the board to embark on a major construction project in the midst of the worst economy in decades.

Mr. Hart and Mr. Fraasch also said that in order to do a major renovation or new construction project at the high school now, the community will have to approve a referendum allowing the district to exceed limits on borrowing. The men said they doubted such a referendum would pass.

School Director Faith Stipanovich didn't offer a definitive position on the proposal but said the board needed to consider the potential savings in operating costs that it could reap from a major project. Board Vice President Ed Kubit was absent.

The district is holding a community forum on the high school project at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the high school auditorium. New cost projections for the various options for the high school project will be presented. Cost estimates released in July ranged from $79.8 million for minimal work to $131.7 for a new high school. The updated costs are expected to be higher.