As new Bellefonte elementary is built, district considers other buildings, possible closures

With construction underway for a new elementary school, the Bellefonte Area School District has begun to discuss possible school closures.

Construction on the $55.3 million building began over the summer and will span 98,000 square feet behind the Bellefonte Area High School.

Last week, the district held a Section 780 meeting on school closures, a requirement under PA School Code when districts consider shutting down school buildings.

Although no decisions have been made, Bellefonte Elementary has long been the front-runner in the discussion about school closures. Prior to the construction on the new elementary school, repairs or renovations to the existing Bellefonte Elementary were discussed but considered too costly. The new elementary project began, at least in part, due to the structural failings of Bellefonte Elementary and the high cost of its repairs.

Tammie Burnaford, the district’s former superintendent who’s now a consultant for SiteLogIQ, the district’s construction management firm, said one goal with the construction of the new building was to level the playing field regarding facilities around the district.

“We wanted to try to find as much educational equity as we could,” Burnaford said. “As anybody knows who has been in our elementary schools, one building has this, another building does not, and it’s very inequitable, particularly when it comes to ADA compliance.”

Damien Spahr from SiteLogIQ gave a presentation on each elementary building along with necessary improvements and a score for repairs or closure.

“So what you’re going to see is the building inventory for Bellefonte Area School District varies from buildings that should be considered for closing or replacement, down through buildings where we have to replace systems and do a little bit of work,” Spahr said.

District elementary buildings were evaluated on a facility condition index score ranging from 0-100%, with 100% representing the most dire need of renovations or closure. FCI is calculated by dividing the cost of repairs by the cost of replacing the building.

SiteLogIQ also gave a 1-100 number rating based on the severity and potential cost of the repairs. The higher the SiteLogIQ score, the more renovations or repairs are needed.

District elementary schools were ranked as follows:

• Bellefonte Elementary — 86.1% FCI score and 99 SiteLogIQ

• Benner Elementary — 77.4 % FCI score and 89 SiteLogIQ

• Pleasant Gap — 72.2% FCI score and 83 SiteLogIQ

• Marion Walker — 27.8% FCI score and 32 SiteLogIQ

SiteLogIQ also calculated long-term maintenance and repair costs over a 10-year period for each building, along with new construction costs for a building of the same size. New construction costs estimated did not include any “soft costs” of permits, furnishings or site evaluations.

Bellefonte Elementary

None of the buildings fully meet ADA requirements but Bellefonte Elementary is the farthest behind, lacking proper restrooms and railing systems. The building also needs new HVAC, plumbing, sewage and electrical, along with extensive foundation and masonry work.

Bellefonte Elementary does not have a fire suppression system or compliant fire alarms. Being located downtown and in a historic building, renovations are also expected to be more difficult than other buildings.

Maintaining and repairing Bellefonte Elementary would cost the district anywhere from $18-23 million while building new on the site would run $32-34 million.

Benner Elementary

Benner Elementary would need updated accessible walkways and ramps, along with new railing systems to meet ADA standards.

Restrooms and plumbing fixtures and the building’s HVAC system would need to be updated. Like Bellefonte, the building lacks a fire suppression system and would require safety updates.

Although the building’s fire suppression and HVAC issues are legal, they pose major safety concerns, Spahr said.

“If there is a fire in a classroom, guess where the smoke goes out into — the corridor where the kids are exiting the building,” Spahr said. “Those are major code issues with HVAC. They’re very common in Pennsylvania schools that are older and they’re legal, but they need to be updated.”

Benner also uses modular classrooms outside the building, which are not ideal for permanent learning spaces, Spahr said.

Long-term maintenance would run the district approximately $6.1-7.2 million over 10 years, with new construction costing $10-12 million.

Pleasant Gap Elementary

Slightly better off than Benner and Bellefonte, Pleasant Gap would need driveway, parking lot and walkway renovations, new railing systems, plumbing and drinking fountains.

Maintenance and repairs would cost $1.3-1.7 million but rebuilding on the current site would cost $19.6 million.

Marion Walker Elementary

Renovated in 2007, Marion Walker had a significantly lower score than the other elementary schools. Renovations suggestions included minor changes to doorways and restrooms to meet ADA compliance and the possible addition of a gym.

The school also has modular classrooms that could be removed in renovations.

Long-term maintenance or repairs on the building would range from $9-10 million while a rebuild would cost $14-15 million.

What’s next?

With renovations needed at several buildings, the district has already started to put money aside for existing buildings and repairs.

“This district has been extraordinarily financially responsible,” Spahr said. “We said the last time that we built a new elementary school was in the ‘60s. Eventually, you need to build new buildings.”

Any decision the board will make regarding closures is expected to come in January, board solicitor Carl Beard said. The board can make a decision starting Dec. 26 but would likely wait until the new year.

“At the end of the day, it could be more than one school,” Beard said. “It could be two schools. Because the board is receiving this information, so they get to weigh it over the next three-month period of time.”

Construction on the new Bellefonte Elementary is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.

The board will next meet on Oct. 15.