Marple Newtown eyes renovations for five schools
NEWTOWN » The Marple Newtown School Board voted unanimously to engage Bonnett Associates, the architectural firm which designed the high school renovation, to evaluate, provide preliminary assessments and identify concepts for potential renovation and expansion of the middle school and four elementary schools.
The work is in conjunction with the demographic study commissioned by the district to predict future increases in enrollment due to recent and anticipated development. The cost of the services will be $34,700.
The process, which will include input from school district representatives, will involve evaluating educational specifications and determining the benchmark needs for each building, said company principal Don Bonnett. The former will include assessing the educational program and the way it relates to the physical needs; the latter, considering the floor plan of each school and determining the way every space is used and the number of students to each location.
The report, to be presented to the school board for evaluation and approval, is an update of a capacity study completed in 2014 to confirm the amount of space in each building regarding the district’s instructional program.
“We did this a few years ago, but things change,” he added. “There has been and will continue to be a lot of growth with residential development.”
The firm will also work with the administration to determine the best way to apply the demographic assigned data, such as reviewing catchment areas (the geographic area surrounding each elementary school), the resulting number of students by grade level and the district’s five-year capital improvement list. Potential enrollment increases often result in the need to expand certain buildings and the firm will include potential plans.
“One of those possibilities could be moving the fifth grade to the middle school,” said Bonnett. “That may or may not be a viable option and you would need to decide what works for you.”
He also proposed a schedule for reviewing designs, preparing and issuing bid documents and the actual work. The overall project would be completed by Aug. 15, 2020.
The demographic study will be presented during a special budget and finance committee meeting beginning 6:30 p.m., Nov. 9, in the administration building, 40 Media Line Road.
A similar review for the township supervisors is scheduled for 7 p.m., Nov. 13 at the township building, 209 Bishop Hollow Road.