State College residents will soon have another chance to make their voices heard concerning the school district’s high school renovation project.
The project, approved in a referendum vote last May, will bring significant changes and improvements to the high school buildings.
On October 29, the State College Area School District will host an “Information Fair” so people can take a look at the project design which is now 30 percent complete.
The fair will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the south building auditorium and run for several hours with different breakout sessions addressing different topics. Representatives from the school district and from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates – the architecture firm involved in the design process – will be on hand the answer questions from the public.
“This is a chance for the board of school directors to hear feedback from the public,” SCASD Director of Physical Plant Ed Poprik says. “We have opportunities for various committees, teachers and students to offer feedback, but this gives the community an opportunity to do the same.”
School board member David Hutchinson says public input has been integral to the development of the high school project since the beginning. In order to keep the public informed and solicit feedback, similar events will also he held once the project’s design is 60 and 90 percent complete.
“When want to try every way we can think of to get input and hear the community perspective,” Hutchinson says. “It seems very reasonable and appropriate to do that. After all, it’s a community project and it’s their money that’s funding this.”
The different breakout sessions will focus on the site plan, internal layout and floor plan, building design, engineering, construction schedule and phasing, financing and environmental certifications. Hutchinson says that format will let attendees learn more about their particular interests.
Poprik says the 30 percent portion of the design work that’s been completed involves finalizing the building’s floor plan and site layout, which ties into planning the building’s heating, electrical, plumbing and other mechanical systems. As the design moves closer to completion, he says the challenges will get more and more technical in nature.
“I think the most challenging portion of this phase is evaluating all of the input from the professional staff and administration and using that information to create a building plan that meets all of [our] educational goals,” Poprik says.
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