Paying for a $21 million expansion and upgrade of Ross Elementary School will cost North Hills property owners the equivalent of a half mill in property taxes.

Investment banker John McShane, managing director with Boenning & Scattergood, said that didn't mean school taxes would rise by that amount.

It does mean that the school board will have to set aside money each year equal to that amount -- about $970,000 -- to pay off the bonds being used to fund the construction.

The school board held a state-mandated hearing on plans to renovate Ross Elementary on Monday night.

The Ross project is the final large element in a elementary school consolidation plan that will see the closing of three elementary buildings and improvements to two others. While the plan calls for large construction costs, it is expected to reduce operating expenses.

By fall 2011, North Hills School District will have just four elementary schools -- Ross, West View, Highcliff and McIntyre -- and Northway, Perrysville and Seville will be closed.

About $4.3 million in new construction will expand Ross Elementary from 81,000 square feet to 101,000 square feet, according to Budd Mracna, of WTW Architects.

The rest of the money will be spent on renovating the existing structure, built in 1963 as a junior high school.

A running track next to the school will be expanded to allow room for football and soccer fields at its center.

The project calls for a new entrance on the north side of the building for parents dropping off their children. Children arriving by bus will enter the school on the Houston Road side.

Classrooms for students in primary grades -- kindergarten through third -- and in intermediate grades -- fourth through sixth -- will be grouped together in clusters, Mr. Mracna said.

Plans show four classrooms per grade plus two extra rooms. The building will contain a new art room, library, computer lab and offices.

Exterior walls will be well insulated brick, and the school will get new windows. It will be air-conditioned.

A half dozen people commented on the proposal.

Mark Priore, of Arbor Drive in Ross, said he was disappointed that the plans did not include additional space for music instruction. He also urged board members to make sure they allocate enough money to maintain the outdoor track and playing fields.

Ed Vesely, of Lingay Drive in Ross, said that the expanded building should include a fifth kindergarten room. Four classrooms devoted to kindergarten were too few in a building that was likely to serve 80 to 100 students of that age.

Tom Ambrass, Lloyd Phillips, Allen Ryan and Matthew Rodgers, all Ross residents, spoke on behalf of the Three Rivers Coalition for Justice.

The school board should reject any construction bids for the Ross Elementary project from Rankin-based W&K Steel, they said.

The company underpays its workers, Mr. Ambrass said. Mr. Ryan said the company allows unsafe conditions on its work sites. The company won a contract for steel erection at Highcliff, according to Mr. Ambrass. "We want to nip this in the bud," he said.

The coalition is involved in a labor dispute with W&K Steel.

Two phone calls to the company were not returned.

Residents have 30 days from Monday to submit written reactions to the plan. Comments can be sent by e-mail to phillipsl@nhsd.net or mailed to North Hills School District, Attn. Lynne Phillips, board secretary, 135 Sixth Ave., Pittsburgh 15229.

Final approval for the Ross expansion plans is likely to come before the school board next month. If the board gives the go-ahead in April, construction bids will be sought in late May or early June. Work would start this summer.

Ross students will be assigned to Northway or Perrysville buildings for the 2010-11 school year while their building is renovated.

Ross Elementary is expected to be ready to reopen in fall 2011.

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.