Parkland School Board directors announced on Jan. 15 the appointment of Val Strock as assistant director of school services for transportation.

Strock, currently the district’s transportation coordinator, will replace George Husack, who resigned last month.

Andrew Hargrove, garage foreman at Parkland, will become the transportation coordinator.

Both jobs took effect Jan. 28. The garage foreman position remains unfilled.

Strock spent 25 years serving in the roles of garage mechanic and foreman for the district, before taking on the transportation coordinator role four years ago.

His level of expertise and knowledge in the garage/transportation area is vast.

“While serving as transportation coordinator, Val has worked closely with the assistant director of school services for transportation and has done an outstanding job,” Superintendent Richard T. Sniscak said. “We feel he is perfectly situated and prepared to take on this leadership position and we congratulate him on this promotion.”

In another transportation matter, Director of School Services David Keppel reported bids for highway improvements at the Veterans Memorial Elementary School will go out in September.

The project will include widening and turning lanes on Twin Ponds and Schantz roads, and a traffic light at the intersection.

“We will start in spring 2020,” Keppel said. “PennDOT dictates the timing.

“We plan to have them ready by the start of school [Sept. 2020]. It’s doable, that’s our goal.”

Senior project manager with Alvin H. Butz Inc. Rob Avitabile reported construction at Veterans Memorial is proceeding on time and slightly under budget.

“The workers out in the field are phenomenal,” Avitabile said. “Everyone’s working together so well. It’s a great team.”

Keppel, who is on the site frequently, stated, “It’s very exciting to see it from the ground up.”