First-phase renovations at Erie High School are nearing completion as a four-story addition is rising at Fairview High School.

A multiyear, multi-million-dollar renovation is underway at McDowell Intermediate High School. Another is about to begin at Corry Area Middle-High School.

Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria will open a new technology center when the two schools combine this all.

They're just some of the construction and renovation projects underway as local schools prepare for the start of classes.

The first phase of a $65 million, multiyear project at Erie High School is expected to be finished ahead of schedule this fall.

Initial work totaling $26 million includes new electrical, heating and ventilation systems and air conditioning in areas without windows. First-phase work also includes a new elevator; remodeled library; north-side classroom and science lab renovations; new hallway windows, floors and doors; a renovated entrance, and improvements to the front facade of the building, which opened in the late 1950s as Erie Technical Memorial High School.

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The school originally housed the district's technical school, on the building's north side, and Memorial Junior High School, on the south side. The 500,000-square-foot building today accommodates 2,300 high school students.

"Phase one work is nearing completion," said Neal Brokman, who is overseeing the Erie School District's construction projects. Brokman is the district's executive director of operations. "It's slated to be wrapped up around October, which is two months ahead of schedule."

"Contractors are in and doing as much work as they can before students return," Brokman said.

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Second-phase work on the building, estimated at $39 million, will include renovations to the school offices, auditorium and gym, which will get its own entrance in the rear of the building. The project also will include classroom renovations and new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in the building's south side.

The Erie High School work is part of the Erie School District's larger initiative to make all of its 16 schools "warm, safe and dry."

Increased state funding in recent years and federal COVID relief funding will pay the costs.

Construction of a 90,000-square-foot Fairview High School addition, on the school's north side, is part of a $45.1 million project to update and enlarge the school, which was built 50 years ago and opened in 1973.

Work on the addition began in summer 2021 and is expected to be completed in March, said John Feteki, Fairview School District's director of facilities, maintenance and grounds. The addition will house 48 new classrooms and a new school office and will open in fall 2023.

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The addition will accommodate a steadily growing student enrollment, Fairview schools Superintendent Erik Kincade said. District enrollment is expected to top 2,000 in 2024-25, up from 1,643 in 2016-17.

Students and staff this fall will remain in the existing building, which has new electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Roofs have also been replaced. Most renovations will be completed by the time classes start on Aug. 31.

Some classrooms and other spaces in the building have been renovated and repurposed. Changes include a new S.T.E.M. classroom and lab, a photography room with a darkroom, new kitchen equipment, an interior "press box" room overlooking the school gym, and an air handling room housing ventilation equipment.

"Having the equipment indoors will help it last longer and make it easier to maintain," Feteki said.

Some work, including a major overhaul of the school auditorium, will be completed this fall. Supply chain issues delayed the work, said Mike Shultz, clerk of the works for the Fairview High School construction. Seats ordered a year ago still have not arrived.

A $4.7 million, 10,000-square-foot addition at nearby Fairview Elementary School was completed earlier this year. The project added nine classrooms.

Costs for the high school and elementary school projects were financed with a bond issue.

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Millcreek Township School District has been methodically renovating schools and other facilities since 2020.

Major work this year is at McDowell Intermediate High School, where the first phase of a $27.3 million, multi-year construction project is underway.

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Work this summer included mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades in the gym, main office and 10 classrooms, said Michael Galleher, the district's director of engineering.

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are also being upgraded at Belle Valley Elementary and Westlake and Walnut Creek middle schools. Construction costs for the three schools total $20.3 million.

The district has borrowed money in bond issues to cover most of the facilities projects.

The Salata Technology and Innovation Center at Cathedral Prep-Villa Maria is expected to be completed Sept. 1.

The fall start date for the newly combined school was pushed back a week, to Sept. 13, to accommodate finishing touches on the $12.5 million project.

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"While the building will be ready around Sept. 1, we still have to move in," school President Kevin Smith said.

The three-story structure is a 35,000-square-foot addition on the school's West 10th Street side, where an old wing of the school was demolished. It will include a large commons area for gatherings, projects and food service as well as art studios, and science, technology and engineering labs.

"It will be a great space for students to collaborate and learn to create," Smith said.

Construction was financed by donations, including $5 million from 1984 Prep graduate Jean Eric Salata.

Also new at the school are HVAC improvements and a combined dance studio and exercise facility in place of a pool. The school has a pool in its athletic center on West 12th Street.

Additional work on the school this summer included "a sort of refresh, or a little bit of an update, to the whole building," Smith said.

Corry Area School District will begin a multi-year renovation of Corry Area Middle-High School this fall.

Construction, expected to be completed in fall 2024, will include bathroom and office renovations; new windows, doors and LED lighting; and electrical system upgrades.

A bond issue will cover most of the $20.7 million cost. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, part of the federal government's COVID-19 relief package, will pay for a new HVAC system for the school, Superintendent Sheri Yetzer said.

Federal funding is paying for mechanical system upgrades at a number of local schools, including Girard High School. The Girard School District will delay the start of classes until Sept. 7 to accommodate construction.

"It's taken a little longer than anticipated to get some materials," Girard schools Superintendent Donna Miller said.

Primary work is on the school's HVAC systems.

"We still had some original rooftop units from 1974, when the school was built," Miller said. "We're using federal funding to update the heating and cooling systems."

The $6.1 million project also includes electrical and plumbing upgrades and new paint in classrooms.

"We also have a couple bonus extras that will have a huge impact on the school," Miller said.

The extras include a refinished gym floor with a new art design. The work was funded by Student Transportation of America, which provides bus service for the district.

Another extra ― new vinyl wall art for the school entrance and cafeteria ― was provided by the Girard School District Foundation.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNmyers.