District to pay up to $7.5M for school site

Land is in Leetsdale, Edgeworth and Leet

The Quaker Valley School District has agreed to pay up to $7.5 million for land that could be the site of a new high school.

On Tuesday, school board leaders entered into a sales agreement with Three Rivers Trust to purchase the land located in Leet, Edgeworth and Leetsdale.

The oblong-shaped tract of a little more than 128 acres is bounded at its northernmost end by Camp Meeting Road and at the other end by Little Sewickley Creek Road.

“By signing this agreement of sale, the district now has the ability to enter upon the property to conduct all necessary tests and inspections to determine, in its sole discretion, whether the property is

suitable for its contemplated use as the site for a new high school facility,” board president Sarah Heres said in a statement.

The school board has hired Phillips & Associates engineering firm to perform tests and inspections on the land. The district has 120 days to conduct those inspections. A final cost for the property will then be determined based on the net acreage of buildable land.

“The way the district intends to afford this project is through long-term financing similar to how it has with other building projects,” director of finance Scott Antoline said in a statement. “The costs associated with building a new school would be separate from the proposed operational budget for 20172018. Any project cannot force tax increases beyond the index or qualified exceptions, unless through voter referendum.”

The district has been on the lookout for a new location since it was determined that the current site is not ideal for a new building.

Based on enrollment figures, the state Department of Education recommends that the school site be on 42 acres of land. The current building is on 14 acres. Since most of the high school property is in a 100year flood zone, permits to rebuild or renovate there are not guaranteed.