After more than a decade, future of Bellefonte’s elementary schools remains unclear

More than a decade after the Bellefonte Area School District started a project to look at the future of its aging elementary schools, more than $100,000 has been spent but the project remains in its early stages.

Since 2016, $130,885 has been spent on architectural firms and consultants, according to figures from Ken Bean, the district’s director of fiscal affairs.

Last year, the board narrowed down its options: upgrade all four elementary schools, close Bellefonte Elementary and build a new building or close Bellefonte and Benner Elementary, consolidate those schools, and build a new building.

At a Sept. 20 meeting, the board of directors voted to hire KBCA Architects to develop an educational specification, a plan that outlines what a new building would need, including size, general design and interior or exterior functions. KBCA will also conduct a capacity study of current buildings, provide square footage needed for any additions or new buildings and provide recommendations on the district’s options. The total cost for KBCA’s work is $22,985.

Where could a new school building go?

A possible site for a new building, if the board chooses that option, is the 107.6 acres of land behind Bellefonte Area High School purchased by the district in 2011 for $4.5 million. In July the board voted 8-1 to bring on SiteLogIQ Construction, a firm that will look at the logistics of building a new elementary building behind the high school and help the district manage the project.

Board President Jeff Steiner was the lone dissenting vote, citing previous concerns with architectural firms and a desire to be able to hold SiteLogIQ accountable. Steiner said his vote was not a reflection on the company but a way for him to hold the company accountable.

“I feel a commitment to safeguard the taxpayer dollars and ensure that things are being done correctly,” Steiner said at the July meeting.

When asked to comment for this story, Steiner declined.

SiteLogIQ will speed up the process of determining if the district can or should use the land behind the high school, Bean said.

“They’re looking at the land up there, having studies done on land, seeing where’s the best place to put the facility on that land,” he said. “Where can we arrange other things for the future?”

SiteLogIQ is under a $36,000 contract for six months, meaning they’ll present their findings to the board in January. Following the presentation, the board plans to once again open the project to the public to get community input.

However, SiteLogIQ’s study doesn’t mean the board has committed to a new building. Bean said the firm’s job is to provide the board with updated information on cost and feasibility so they can decide to renovate or build new.

Superintendent Tammie Burnaford declined to comment for this story and board vice president and chair of the project committee Jon Guizar did not respond to requests for comment.

How did we get here?

Since 2009, the district has conducted several studies on elementary facilities, looking at capacity, functionality and design. In 2009, Hayes Large Architects surveyed district buildings with an emphasis on elementary buildings. In 2016 the architectural firm Crabtree Rohrbaugh and Associates repeated the study for a total cost of $12,500.

Three years later, Hunt Engineers, Architects & Surveyors was brought in to determine the elementary building needs and recommend upgrades. Hunt was contracted for $59,400 and the firm presented the board with six options in August 2020, several of which included closing schools and building a new elementary building to accommodate those students.

The COVID-19 pandemic halted progress on the project after the summer of 2020 due to financial strain and the affects of the pandemic, according to Bean. In 2021, the board narrowed the six options down to three, which are outlined in a section of the district’s website dedicated to the elementary building project that has not been updated for more than a year.

Those options and estimated costs are as follows:

• Upgrading all four elementary schools at $41.6 million

• Closing Bellefonte Elementary and building a new site with a capacity of 400 students. This plan would also include minor upgrades for the remaining schools, for a total estimated cost of $30.7 million.

• Closing both Bellefonte and Benner Elementary schools and building a new site to accommodate 600 students at an estimated cost of $36.2 million.

What’s next?

Part of SiteLogIQ’s job will be to reconfigure cost estimates from 2021. Bean said administrators will meet with KBCA Architects in the upcoming months to determine the needs of a new building and re-estimate the total cost.

But the board’s other options aren’t any cheaper. Renovations on Bellefonte Elementary could potentially cost more than building a new elementary school, Bean said.

“The problem with the Bellefonte Elementary building is it’s a great building that’s just not good for elementary level,” Bean said. “It was built originally as a high school. It’s in a historic district so anything we try to do to the outside costs a little bit more money.”

So what will happen to Bellefonte Elementary if the district chooses to build new? Bean said they’ll most likely see if any other local groups need the space but those decisions are a long way off.

“The board needs to make those decisions and the board is very adamant on including the public, making sure we have public presentations just on these issues so that everybody in the public can know what’s going on,” Bean said. “There shouldn’t be any surprises.”