Information Fair Engages Community on High School Project

Community members quizzed representatives from the State College Area School District about the high school renovation project on Wednesday night.

They expressed concerns about efficient use of space in the new buildings, about ensuring a sensible layout for the students, about the proposed construction timeline for the project, and more.

Far from being upset or flustered by this barrage of questions, the SCASD reps were glad to hear them. It was exactly what they’d hoped for.

Wednesday night was the first of three information fairs on the district’s high school project. The design team recently completed 30 percent of the project’s design and the district held the open forum to update and the public and hear comments and concerns.

“This is their project, and this is their school,” school board member Scott Fozard says. “We’ve tried hard to engage the community at every turn we could.”

The district’s $85 million high school renovation project was approved by a public referendum back in May. Since then, the district has worked with the ELA and Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates architecture firms to reach the 30 percent design milestone.

“This isn’t exactly like we’re 30 percent done with the whole design,” Fozard says. “It’s more like 80 percent done with one aspect, and only 10 percent with another.”

Fozard says the district will have an increasingly limited ability to adjust the project as it progresses, making community feedback early on very important.

State College resident Keith Farwell was among those who attended. Though his youngest child graduated from the district three years ago, he’s “still living in the area, and still paying taxes” and has a vested interest in the project.

Farwell feels the attendance for the fair might have been more robust if the event had been held at a different time – perhaps on a Saturday instead of a Wednesday night. However, he says he wasn’t there to criticize the district, and only wanted to ensure they were designing the school to the student – not the other way around.

“I’m relatively happy with how things are progressing,” says State College resident Mark Higgins. “The architecture group and the construction firm each calculated the cost of the project in a different way, and they came up with numbers that varied by less than two percent. That’s a good sign.”

SCASD Superintendent Bob O’Donnell told community members in his opening remarks that the district was also consulting with current high school students. He said they met with a group of students to get feedback earlier in the day on Wednesday, because “no one better understands the life of a high school kid than a high school kid.”

Several high school students, including representatives from the business and marketing club Deca, were in attendance to help attendees understand the student perspective on the project.

Brittany Marsh, a State High senior, says it’s time to make sure the building itself matches the quality of the academic programs it contains. She says the conditions of the building are subpar at best, and she’s happy to have the opportunity to help State College residents understand the importance of the high school project.

“We have the student perspective, but we need the parents’ outside perspective too,” Marsh says. “If we’re going to make this school the best it can be, we need as many perspectives as we can get.”

Similar events will be held at the 60 and 90 percent design milestones.

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