The State College Area School Board on Monday gave unanimous approval to the first phase in the planning and design of major renovations and additions at Corl Street and Radio Park elementary schools and construction of a new Houserville Elementary School.
Board members approved in November moving ahead with the projects to update the three schools after about seven months of review. Since then, architectural firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates and district administrators have begun the early design planning, with three community forums for feedback held this year and input received from the Citizens Advisory Committee.
The next step will be for the board to vote on a 60 percent design plan, scheduled for May 22. Prior to then, however, Ed Poprik, district director of physical plant, asked the board to authorize administration to work with CRA to find square footage reductions for each project.
At the 30 percent estimates, each project is over the initial budget. Poprik said administrators and the design team would ‘focus on efficiencies, non-dedicated program space … and any specific areas that may be larger than previous projects.’
The early estimates for Corl Street show 53,520 square feet of new construction and 10,190 square feet of renovations, with three classrooms per grade. CRA’s low bid estimate at this stage is $15.9 million, while the initial estimated cost was $15.15 million. After state grants and PlanCon reimbursements, the estimated cost to the district at this point would be $14.69 million.
At Radio Park, the 30 percent plans have 49,567 square feet of new construction and 34,477 square feet of renovations, with three classrooms per grade and a bid alternate for four classrooms per grade. The four classroom bid alternate under the 30 percent plans is estimated by CRA at about $21 million. The initial estimate was $17.24 million. Cost to the district after PlanCon reimbursements would be $17.76 million.
For Houserville, which will combine with Lemont Elementary to form a single K-5 school, the board previously approved all new construction. The 30 percent plans call for 76,230 square feet of new construction, with three classrooms per grade. CRA estimates the low bid under the early plans at $20.2 million, while the initial estimated cost was $16.65 million. Total district cost after grants and reimbursements would be $17.76 million.
Vernon Bock, supervisor of elementary education, said the design team will start by looking at library, gym and other large spaces to see if the plans are consistent with the district’s other elementary schools.
Classrooms are being designed to be about 900 square feet, Poprik said, noting that anything under 660 square feet is considered unsuitable and not eligible for state reimbursement. The planned classroom sizes are consistent with other recent elementary projects.
Some of the discussion among board members centered on gymnasium size.
‘We are not building gymnasiums that are spectator-grade for competitions,’ Poprik said, because adding spectator space would cause a significant cost increase.
Poprik said the board would be updated in two weeks on potential square footage reduction, analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of combined cafeterias and gyms, and comparison of space sizes to other district schools.
Board member Scott Fozard said the 30 percent plans are a step in the process, but are not final and don’t tie the board to specific details.
“All we’re saying is we approve where we are,” he said. “It allows the design team to move forward with the priorities we set for them.”
After the scheduled 60 percent plan vote in May, the next step will be to approve final designs on Sept. 25 and award bids on Nov. 13. Construction would begin in January 2018 with a goal of opening for the 2019-20 school year.
Tobacco Policy Update
The board approved revisions to the student policy on the use of tobacco on school grounds to add vaping and any other tobacco-related products to the list of prohibited products. It had already prohibited cigars, cigarettes, pipes and smokeless tobacco.
Summer Maintenance and Repair
The board authorized the district to advertise for bid a number of summer maintenance and repair projects at various properties, totaling $1.89 million. The projects are identified in the physical plant five-year capital improvement plan, and include $400,000 for driveway and parking lot paving at Mount Nittany Middle School.
