What’s next for Bellefonte elementary schools? Board takes steps back in planning process
Despite entering into contract negotiations with an architectural firm, the Bellefonte Area School District elementary school project will take steps back as officials attempt to remedy confusion from community members.
Last month, board president Jon Guizar told the CDT the district would be more “aggressive” in its efforts to push the project forward, but at last week’s meeting, the board of directors unanimously voted to reject all proposals and discontinue the request for proposal process. Starting over, the project will be broken into two steps — an initial study of the district’s needs and community engagement and an architect selection process.
“We’re going to turn that into its own, maybe, four, five or six month process to really engage the community, have those presentations from the architect of different options and cross-platform trying to engage the community in public meetings (and) social media,” Guizar said during the meeting.
The district must draft a new RFP and update anticipated project deadlines. Superintendent Michelle Saylor said the new process will be “much less confusing” for community members to understand and provide them with opportunities to share their opinions.
“The recommendation came about as a result of difficulties we encountered in the final stages of the RFP and negotiations process,” Saylor wrote in an email. “There was also what we saw as a lack of understanding in the community about the process.”
The current options under consideration are to renovate the Bellefonte Elementary building — located on 100 W. Linn St. — or construct a new facility behind the high school and adjacent to Governors Park. A contract with McKissack Architects was to be voted on at an October meeting, but some board members said they wanted to explore additional options and negotiate with other firms.
Depending on what the board decides, parents and students could be shifting schools if all or a mix of four elementary schools, Bellefonte, Benner, Pleasant Gap and Marion-Walker, are consolidated. Based on the guidelines put in place by the project’s construction committee, the district could spend $24 million to build a new facility or $5 million on renovations.
Readvertising an RFP comes at no additional cost to the district, Saylor said.
A 2017 feasibility study of all four elementary schools identified Bellefonte Elementary as needing the most and costliest of renovations. Benner and Pleasant Gap elementary schools followed close behind, meaning they will need to be replaced or renovated in the next five to 10 years.
To gauge community concern, the district held a series of “listening meetings” earlier this year and created a page on its website where residents could ask questions about the project, but Saylor and Guizar said there was still confusion among board members and the community.
Under the previous plan, the district anticipated a new building would be open for the 2023 school year.
Moving forward, board member Rodney Musser said the board needs to stick to the schedule outlined in the RFP, saying that if the board had stuck to the initial schedule, the district would have had time to hear community feedback and clarify any confusion.
“My hope is that as we progress this next year, because we’ve been delayed a year, my hope is that we stick to the timeline that’s in the RFP because what happened this year is our fault,” Musser said.
