Two Penn Hills schools will deliver a knockout blow in their efforts to remove asbestos tiling after an infusion of state funds.

The Penn Hills School District will tear up flooring in 50 classrooms at Linton Middle School that “complements the new furniture that was purchased and installed over the summer,” Superintendent John Mozzocio said in a statement.

Spokesperson Lydia Richardson later clarified that, beyond cosmetic perks, this project is a permanent fix for asbestos flooring that was sealed in recent years.

Linton, which opened in 1969, also will get central air conditioning. Richardson said district officials have been considering where to place the air-conditioning unit — either on the roof or side of the building — which will vary the price of its installation.

“That will help improve the learning environment and improve air quality,” Mozzocio said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded the district $2.2 million through its Public School Environmental Repairs Program. The money will be used entirely at Linton.

“The other schools are in better standing (environmentally speaking),” Richardson said.

The district’s high school was built in 2013, and the elementary school opened to all Penn Hills students in kindergarten through fourth grade in the fall of 2014 after Forbes Elementary closed after the 2013-14 school year.

Charter and technical schools also were eligible to apply for the grants.

The Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship succeeded. It will use a $355,000 grant to fully remediate asbestos flooring at its lone building, the former Washington Elementary School, which dates to 1960.

Wayne Jones, chief executive officer of the charter school, said the issue stems from the glue beneath the tiles, which becomes a hazard if the flooring cracks or lifts up.

The school has removed about half of the old tiling since moving there in 2016.

“As we’ve been abating the floor tile in these classrooms, our plan has always been to do the entire school, but due to a lack of funding, we haven’t been able to do it all at once,” Jones said.

Cabinets, sink and cubbies will be demolished and replaced or upgraded as part of this work. According to Jones, the cubbies will be switched for lockers.

He expects work to wrap up next summer.

Jack Troy and Haley Daugherty are TribLive staff writers. Jack can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com. Haley can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.

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