The Montour school board is pushing the bid date for its high school renovation project to March 30 and will delay its official meeting until March 31.

"That will keep us in March, which was our goal, though it leaves a pretty short window," acting Superintendent Donald Boyer said Thursday's night at a meeting of the board's buildings and grounds committee.

The delays are because of construction suggestions being made by the district's new construction manager, Thomas & Williamson. Engineers for the company have identified changes that can make construction faster and less expensive without impacting quality, and bidders will need more time to look over the revisions.

"We were hired to make sure we can do your project in a year's time," Thomas & Williamson representative John Hays said. "Including these changes, we believe we can do that."

The biggest change is a move to include fire walls for safety rather than applying fireproofing material to the whole building. That change should yield a $1 million-plus savings.

The school board hired Thomas & Williamson, a specialist in accelerated projects, to take over the renovation last month. With construction on hold for more than two years, the board has decided to vacate the school and complete the project in one year instead of the planned 28 months.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.