Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Board approves building a new high school
$127 million cost projection for the project divides board
PENN » The Avon Grove School Board unanimously voted to proceed with the construction of a new high school and renovations to the existing buildings, but when it came to the spending plan, the board was divided.
There was very little in the way of public comment preceding the vote, but the board was prepared for a large audience with overflow viewing by closed circuit TV set up in the intermediate school cafeteria, and live translation devices available to Spanish speaking audience members.
The plan calls for the construction of a new high school for grades nine through 12 on the district’s Sunnyside Road property. The existing high school building will be renovated to a middle school for sixth through eighth grades. The Fred S. Engle Middle School building would be repurposed, potentially to provide an alternative revenue stream. There would be renovations and upgrades to the remaining buildings as well, so that all would have secure entry areas and all modular classroom trailers would be removed.
“It’s time we moved on and got those children in classrooms after all these years,” board member Bonnie Wolff said. She pointed out that there are now
20 modulars in the district and some of them have been in place for 17 years.
A $127 million cost projection for the project divided the board. That figure, which was settled on during a committee of the whole meeting April 9, was approved on a 5 to 4 vote, with John Auerbach, Charles Beatty, Rick Dumont and Lynn Weber opposed.
“This is too much in my mind to ask our residents to bare,” Beatty said.
To fund the project, the district is looking at imposing tax increases each year at the state’s Act 1 Index maximum. Beattie calculated that this would ultimately result in a 25 percent tax increase.
Auerbach brought a motion from the floor stating that any future state reimbursement received through the PlanCon program or other reimbursement be assigned to reduce the local efforts required by district taxpayers.
There were several objections to the motion, with some arguing that it was inappropriate to tie the hands of future districts. Others felt the motion was premature, or that they were unprepared to vote on a motion they had not had time to discuss or consider. Eventually that motion was tabled and may return at a future meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese expressed support of the decision. “I am extremely excited for the Avon Grove School District community,” he said. “Countless hours have gone into the extensive facilities review and I am pleased with the decision of the board to move forward in a way that will benefit the students of the Avon Grove School District for many years to come. It feels really good to be a part of something that will forever leave its mark on this community.”
Presently, Avon Grove’s schools are overcrowded, operating at 141 percent of functional capacity and offering 31 percent less square footage per student than regional counterparts. The current facilities restrict extracurricular and athletic space and the schools can only meet 36 percent of the current STEM demand. In addition to mechanical deficiencies, the schools are not currently in line with the recommended grade configurations to maximize student learning.
The new construction project and its impact on the taxpayers was reflected in the 2018-19 school year budget, which was also up for preliminary approval at the meeting. At this time, the document reflects a 3.1 percent tax increase to support a budget of $97,068,357.
Weber stated that she was voting for the budget in order to keep the process moving, but that she hopes to see changes before it comes back to the board for final approval in June.
Weber asked that the district use some of the fund set aside for increased PSERS retirement program payments to bring the tax increase down to 2.55 percent, as was shown in the first draft displayed in January.
“We have the means to not go to the maximum Act 1 (increase) this year,” Auerbach said.
There will be a budget work session on May 14, and other opportunities to make changes to the budget before adoption in June.
Next steps include the development of requests for proposal for project management services, civil engineering services and architectural services. Future facilities planning will take place during the monthly Facilities COW meetings. The Avon Grove School District and Board of School Directors are committed to keeping the community informed and involved in future facilities planning, and as such, the community is invited to attend and participate in these meetings. For more information and meeting schedules, please visit www.avongrove.org.