As Bald Eagle district weighs consolidation, study offers glimpse at potential costs
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- The Bald Eagle Area School District could consolidate schools as enrollment falls.
- A new study offered early cost estimates for potentially expanding Wingate Elementary.
- The district may adjust its school choice policy, which has boosted attendance at Wingate.
Bald Eagle Area School District officials received another briefing Wednesday that provided cost estimates for potential projects that could consolidate or expand its elementary schools.
Findings presented to the board hail from a recently conducted feasibility study of district facilities. The study conducted by Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates marks the beginning of what is expected to be a gradual process that could produce significant shakeups for Bald Eagle area schools. The study highlighted expected maintenance costs for district facilities in the near future and shed light on the potential costs of long-range renovations at Wingate Elementary School.
Jeff Straub of Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates said estimates and proposals presented before the board are preliminary. The district has not yet considered any formal plans to take action using the study’s findings, but they could be used to inform that process in the coming months and years.
“Ultimately, this is a road map for planning purposes for all of you, whether you want to do a quarter with something in the next year or two, five years or 10 years, and to make you aware of concerns across all facilities,” Straub said.
Perhaps the most notable conclusion from the feasibility study is the underutilization of Bald Eagle area schools. The report found the district’s elementary schools and the Bald Eagle Area Junior-Senior High School are using roughly 65% and 54% of their total capacities, respectively, and the district has lost roughly a third of its student population over the last two decades.
With that in mind, plans proposed by the study suggest moving students from the Howard, Mountain Top and Port Matilda elementary schools to Wingate Elementary. Under such a scenario, the district would begin by sending all third, fourth and fifth grade classes to Wingate Elementary — a move that would not initially provide cost benefits to the district but could make operations more efficient.
The second phase of the plan proposed by the study would expand and renovate the Wingate Elementary campus to increase capacity and eventually house all elementary-level instruction under one roof. A draft included in the presentation showed new classroom wings, larger parking lots with optimized traffic flow and new outdoor play spaces, among other additions.
Preliminary cost estimates included in the study suggest a “base option” for Wingate Elementary’s overhaul would fetch about $24 million and add roughly 18,500 square feet to the building. This would help it accommodate students in kindergarten through the fourth grade and move the fifth grade to a dedicated wing alongside sixth grade students adjacent to Bald Eagle Junior/Senior High School.
Another option offered through the study would include those renovations while also constructing a central district office, adding 28,000 square feet to the campus for roughly $29.8 million. A final, all-encompassing option expands the building, constructs a district office and installs a dedicated kindergarten wing for $32.9 million, resulting in an additional 36,600 square feet.
Though the exact fate of Bald Eagle area’s elementary schools remains unclear, the new feasibility study suggests expensive maintenance costs are on the way.
Figures shared with the board estimate the district’s four elementary schools will require at least $28.3 million in expected maintenance over the next five years. Significant costs are projected for Mountaintop Elementary, whose core mechanical equipment, including its boiler, are “on their last legs,” Straub said.
Is school choice on its way out?
District policy 206, better known as Bald Eagle area’s school choice policy, allows parents to request their students attend an elementary school outside their residential boundary as long as there is available space and transportation. But the policy may be retired next year to better help the district plan for the future.
When the district introduced school choice years ago, it hoped the policy would encourage families living within Wingate Elementary’s boundaries to send students to the three outlying elementary schools and help balance class sizes. So far, the policy has instead moved even more students to Wingate.
Data presented by Skip Pighetti, the district’s assistant superintendent, show 41 more students now attend Wingate Elementary as a result of the policy. Today, it leaves 101 K-5 students at Mountaintop Elementary, 87 students at Port Matilda Elementary and just 77 students at Howard Elementary.
Though Wingate Elementary offers three classes for each grade, the other three schools offer just one per grade. Howard Elementary’s current kindergarten class (nine students) and fifth grade class (six students) are by far the smallest in the district.
“I think there’s always been a conception that Howard would have a lot less kids if it wasn’t for school choice, and you’ve just showed us that is not the case at all,” said Tina Green, the school board president.
Pighetti noted that transportation for students moving across school boundary lines can cut into the school day. Some students could miss the first five or 10 minutes of instruction in the morning, which becomes significant over time.
“When you start adding up the numbers, depending on where they’re at, there could be anywhere from eight to 15 days of school in minutes that they would end up missing over time,” the assistant superintendent explained.
Bald Eagle area’s school board is expected to consider a motion to adjust the policy in April.
If school choice is no longer offered starting with the 2026-27 academic year, the district is likely to make exceptions for students who are already attending other elementary schools through the program. Administrators may also consider exceptions for the siblings of students who attend schools outside their residential boundary.
Pighetti said knowing the exact destinations for incoming kindergarten students would help the district better plan for its future.
What comes next?
With the feasibility study complete, Bald Eagle area officials can begin moving forward with discussions and planning efforts to potentially reshape the district. So far, the school board has not taken any steps toward closing schools or moving students to different buildings.
In a memo shared this month answering “frequently asked questions,” district officials said Wingate Elementary does not have enough room to bring all elementary-level students to its campus for the 2026-27 school year. Doing so will require lengthy planning and coordination.
“If the board chose to pursue that option, it would take at least three years,” the memo reads. “As such, it is highly unlikely that school closures will take place during this process.”
Greene, the board president, encouraging community members to offer their input as Bald Eagle area officials begin charting the district’s course for the future.
“We need a lot of guiding questions as we move through this,” Greene said. “This isn’t something that’s going to happen tomorrow. It isn’t even saying it is going to happen, but we still need to have feasibility studies to know what our costs are and to plan, financially, across many years.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 4:27 PM.
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