The elementary school landscape in the State College Area School District will be changing.
In response to a demographic study of district attendance areas, the district administration has prepared new scenarios for elementary school projects as part of the current district-wide facilities master planning.
State College Superintendent Bob O’Donnell talked at length about the process and what’s happening in the district.
“Our role in this process is to help our board understand what our student enrollment looks like moving forward — we used a demographer to do a study on our community and we shared that,” O’Donnell explained. “We’ve also worked with our design team to look at different scenarios.”
At the present time, there are several different options that involve Corl Street, Houserville and Radio Park elementary schools. A recently released report from demographer DecisionInsite included projected enrollments based on analysis of current and planned residential developments within attendance areas, recent kindergarten enrollment trends and changes in grade level cohorts of students within the district.
There are several scenarios that will be looked at by the board.
■ In scenario 1, Corl Street is closed and repurposed, while one classroom per grade would be added to Radio Park and Houserville. That means there would be a total of four classrooms per grade for each school. That would make those schools similar in size to Park Forest, which is the largest district elementary school — it housed 529 students in 2015-16.
Under scenario 1, the average building capacity would be 480 students and the estimated net project cost would be $35.07 million.
■ In scenario 2A, Corl Street is closed and repurposed. Houserville retains three classrooms per grade while Radio Park adds two classrooms per grade for a total of five, making it the district’s largest elementary school.
Under scenario 2A, the average building capacity would again be 480 students. However, the estimated net project cost is significantly higher at $35.23 million.
■ Scenario 2B also closes and repurposes Corl Street. Houserville would retain three classrooms per grade, while Radio Park would add one classroom per grade for a total of four. Easterly Parkway Elementary would expand, adding one classroom per grade for a total of four.
Scenario 2B makes Radio Park and Easterly Parkway the district’s largest elementary schools. The estimated project cost is $38.27 million.
■ There’s also scenario 3, which does not involve closing Corl Street. There would be one classroom per grade added to Corl Street, giving it a total of three. Houserville and Radio Park retain three classrooms per grade, keeping them similar in size to most of the district’s elementary schools.
Scenario 3 keeps all elementary schools comparable in size and each building would have a capacity of 437 students. However, the cost of the project is $45.39 million.
The board is also considering two additional scenarios — six buildings with four classrooms per grade and five buildings with five classrooms per grade — but those scenarios are strictly for informational and cost analysis purposes only.
“We have three attendance areas and four schools involved in the consideration. We’re looking at those three attendance areas because the schools that serve those attendance areas are our most out of date facilities,” O’Donnell said.
With the massive cost of the high school project, O’Donnell said that he’s pleased that the district is in a position to talk about updating the elementary schools.
“We feel pretty fortunate to be here because in 2011, I don’t think any of us thought we’d be at the point where we’d have the ability to update some of these really old elementary schools. So here we are,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, the elementary school decision will made by the school board.
“The decision lies with the board,” he said. “They’ve been open to community thinking all along.”
With that in mind, there will be a pair of public forums to discuss the elementary school plan. The next one will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, at the Mount Nittany Middle School. The second will occur at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, also at Mount Nittany Middle School.
“People can ask questions, people can get a sense of understanding. Obviously, there are different beliefs around, such as school size and how that impacts the community,” O’Donnell said.
According to O’Donnell, the board will begin the “down-select” process until they decide on one option. The ultimate decision, he said, will likely be made sometime on or before Monday, Nov. 14.
“That time frame,” O’Donnell said, “allows us to stay on course.”
More information about the planning is available at www.scasd.org/elementaryplan.
IF YOU GO
What: Community forums to discuss the State College Elementary School Project
When: 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19, and Monday, Oct. 17
Where: Mount Nittany Middle School, State College
