After months of concern from neighborhood families, Corl Street Elementary School will remain open as State College Area School District plans for the future of several elementary schools
The State College Area School Board on Monday voted to eliminate project options for the District Wide Facilities Master Plan that would have closed the school that serves the Greentree and Holmes-Foster neighborhoods.
‘This process has thus far provided a great opportunity for some really substantive discussions with our community in regard to the priorities for our elementary model, and I am appreciative of everyone who has engaged with us in this process, whether by participating in meetings or sending us letters,’ Board President Amber Concepcion said in a statement. ‘Ultimately, our goal is to provide an excellent elementary program across our district, in schools that can offer some consistency of student experiences.’
District administration recommended earlier this month eliminating four potential project options that would have closed Corl Street based on enrollment projections and a recommended elementary capacity of 3,500, with school sizes of 400 to 550 students each. The eliminated project options would not have met those criteria.
Under the remaining project options, Corl Street, Houserville and Radio Park elementary schools would have some combination of renovations and new construction. Each calls for Lemont Elementary to merge with Houserville to form a single K-5 school and for the Lemont building to be repurposed.
Final project options are expected to be presented to the board on Oct. 10 with project selection on Nov. 14.
The board also authorized a Section 780 hearing as required under the Pennsylvania School Code to begin the process of closing and repurposing Lemont Elementary. The process includes a scheduling and holding of the hearing and a three-month wait period before voting to close the school. If the district opts to sell or donate the property, it must follow School Code guidelines, and options include public auction, sealed bids or a private sale, according to the district.
The possible closure of Corl Street had been met with objections by parents and State College Borough Council, who cited the value of a walkable, neighborhood school and the need to keep schools open within the borough.
‘I’m happy to vote for preserving Corl Street tonight because doing so serves the interests of our whole district,’ board member Amy Bader said, according to a district release.
State High Project
The board also approved $86,000 in project change orders for the State High project, the largest being $35,000 to add 11 laboratory exhaust fans in both the North and South Buildings. Ed Poprik, district director of physical plant, told the board that the change orders so far have been expected for the project’s size and complexity. A contingency fund covers the costs of change orders, and Poprik said he expects the district to spend about $3 million from the fund by the time construction is completed in 2019.
Poprik and project manager Tim Jones of Massaro Construction Services also provided a progress update on the project. They said progress is continuing on the four classroom units along with underground utility work and preparations to connect the units with the rest of the building.
Rock excavation continues, and upcoming work includes structural steel and slab work for the classroom units. The district hopes to move students into the units by December 2017.
The project team also expects final inspections to be completed soon for modular classrooms for students to be able to move in.
