As school renovations continue, Bellefonte eyes major upgrades at Pleasant Gap Elementary
After announcing plans to close two elementary schools, the Bellefonte Area School District is moving forward with initial steps to renovate another building.
The district’s board of directors unanimously voted to approve early procurement and pricing examinations for mechanical and electrical equipment that would help renovate Pleasant Gap Elementary School. The project, which still requires future board approval for its design and construction, seeks to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and other infrastructure throughout the school.
Representatives from SiteLogIQ, the district’s construction management firm, presented an outline of the project to board members Tuesday. For now, the multi-million dollar project is expected to demolish existing ducts and piping throughout the school, replace heating systems, hot water distribution systems, ducts and building energy management control systems and install new exhaust fans, electrical panels LED lighting, fire alarm systems and suspended acoustical ceilings. The school’s boilers were upgraded in 2023 and remain in good shape, the firm said.
Superintendent Roy Rakszawski said Pleasant Gap Elementary has recently experienced difficulties maintaining compliant temperatures of at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit in some rooms, even while using additional space heaters. HVAC difficulties have pushed children to wear winter coats in class and led teachers to combine classes to get students out of cold rooms.
“I can’t imagine going through another winter under those conditions,” Rakszawski said. “Regardless of where we land with the long-term plan, which is in progress, there’s no doubt this is a priority for safety, for compliance and doing what’s best for those students.”
Initial plans presented to the board suggest the project will cost about $4.77 million, though SiteLogIQ expects the final number to fall between $4.6 and 5 million. The district will spend just under $800,000 to fund design plans and the prepurchase of equipment.
Bellefonte’s board is expected to consider design approval at its Feb. 18 meeting before considering constructional approval a month later. Under the proposed schedule, construction preparation would begin after school hours starting in early May before work gets rolling once students are out of school in June. Substantial completion necessary for building use is expected to wrap up by Aug. 13, with final construction concluding in late October.
Responding to board member concerns, SiteLogIQ’s Damion Spahr said early construction work should not disrupt classrooms.
“There’s no plans to move anybody somewhere else,” he said. “The building is going to be cleaned up, and there’s going to be times when it’s not clean enough and [director of physical plant Thomas Lannen] is going to tell us to do better, and we will. Construction is more painful than perfect, but it’s not our intention to move kids around. It’s more of our intention to open up the spaces and be ready to go so that when kids are gone, we can fly. [Early construction] is all second shift.”
Plans to renovate Pleasant Gap Elementary come as the district continues work on a new $55.3 million elementary school, which is under construction behind the high school. The district’s Bellefonte and Benner elementary schools will close at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year, coinciding with the new school’s anticipated 2026 opening.
Jon Guizar, the school board president, said HVAC improvements at Pleasant Gap Elementary are possibly the biggest outstanding upgrade remaining as the district moves forward with renovating its schools.
“When we looked at this project overall, we made a statement that in order to bring equity to whatever building remains, we’ve got to commit a certain dollar amount that we charge the administration with making sure we can afford, and that’s kind of the number range we came up with,” Guizar said. “You’re attacking the greatest need for the remaining building with available funds we have, and we’re not dependent upon grants. I think that’s how it all comes together for me.”
Previous studies conducted by SiteLogIQ examining facility conditions throughout the district found Pleasant Gap Elementary scored comparably to Benner Elementary School, which is now slated for closure. Studies concluded Pleasant Gap would eventually need improvements to its driveways, parking lots and walkways, plus new railing systems and other upgrades.
The school board’s next public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, inside Bellefonte Area Middle School’s cafeteria. Though the public can’t attend remotely, C-NET will record the meeting and post it online.
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