Nearly one hundred community members met at State College High School Thursday night to talk about plans for the rapidly aging High School buildings. It’s been a controversial subject in State College. An earlier proposal to build a new school building was torpedoed by strong opposition in the community. The school board is once again considering two options; building an entirely new school, or renovating the existing buildings, all before 2017.
The evening started off with several hour-long tours led by State College high school students through the North and South buildings on Westerly Parkway. The goal was to illustrate the need for upgrades. Some of the classrooms haven’t been updated since initial construction in 1962.
Concerns about the current state of the buildings include:
· 85 percent of the campus is now over 40 years old.
· Windows, heating and ventilation, electrical and plumbing systems require replacement.
· Heavy leaking occurs in the building (according to my tour guide, the south auditorium floods every time it rains)
· Classrooms are undersized and lack windows.
· Neither high school building meet current borough codes.
· Most rooms have no air conditioning.
“We’re building the high school for the next 50 years,” said board vice president Amber Concepcion.
Twenty-three different sites were evaluated as possible school locations, according to architect Matthew Harlow, which was recently narrowed down to three. The three locations include Everhart Farm off University Drive and two locations owned by Penn State — one near Whitehall Road and the other near the Fox Point neighborhood.
“College Ave. and Blue Course Dr. near the Waffle Shop is the demographic center of our district,” said Harlow. “These three locations satisfy that location.”
The upgrades will mean higher costs for taxpayers. The board distributed the following chart, which outlines the average projected cost to State College homeowners based on the total project cost.
Total Project Cost Annual Property Tax Monthly Tax Increase
$70 million $99 $8
$90 million $138 $12
$100 million $157 $13
$110 million $177 $15
$120 million $196 $16
$145 million $244 $20
Preliminary estimates put the cost of the project at $109.9 million to $151.8 million depending on the location and complexity, excluding the renovation option.
Six concepts are currently being considered, including complete relocation or significant renovations and additions at the current Westerly Parkway site.
The board plans to gauge public interest in the project by using randomly distributed surveys at the end of May. Science Research Solutions has been commissioned to prepare the survey for $35,000.
In all, 6,750 surveys will be sent out and the board expects 1,300 to be returned.
“Social Science Research Solutions will get all the information and prepare a report for the board that will be delivered in early July,” said Board President Penni Fishbaine. “They will count all the surveys and weight the surveys so it equates as closely as possible to the State College area.”
Survey questions have yet to be determined, but the intent is to gauge “which services have adequate community support,” she says.
The board hopes that all of this preliminary work will result in a community referendum on May 20, 2014. Ideally construction will begin in early 2015 to conclude in 2017, according to papers distributed at the meeting.
A second forum will be held on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the High School South auditorium. A tour of the buildings will precede the forum, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The tour will begin at the High School South Auditorium.
