As classes start, here’s the latest on big projects in Centre County school districts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Key projects across Centre County’s school districts took major leaps over the summer.
- Once behind schedule, Bellefonte’s new elementary school is on track for 2026-27 opening.
- Bald Eagle’s district is nearly ready to unveil its new forestry building, fitness center.
With major construction projects underway at several school districts, it’s been a busy summer in Centre County.
Some districts, like State College and Bellefonte, are working to construct entirely new buildings, while others are renovating infrastructure and breathing new life into older facilities. Projects across the county are aimed at helping schools better accommodate students and replace aging facilities.
Here’s the latest on some of the biggest construction projects underway at each public school district in Centre County.
Bald Eagle Area School District
A $3.3 million project to construct a new forestry building and convert Bald Eagle’s existing forestry building into a new fitness center and weight room took major strides this summer.
The district’s fitness center is practically ready for use, according to regular updates provided by Superintendent Christopher Santini on Facebook. He says the facility should help reduce screen time, increase student movement and fitness and help students “find something they enjoy and can be successful with.”
The fitness center features new Bald Eagle Area School District logos and signage and a wide range of athletic equipment in addition to free weight racks.
Bald Eagle’s district is soliciting suggestions to name its new weight room. Community members are encouraged to fill out a Google Form to share their ideas and potentially win a prize.
Construction crews spent part of the last week paving new lots outside the district’s new forestry building and fitness center.
Bald Eagle’s new forestry building received substantial work over the summer, including installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and interior finishings.
Following the renovations, Bald Eagle’s former weight room will become the district’s new office building for special education services.
Bellefonte Area School District
Construction crews are hard at work on Bellefonte’s new $55.3 million elementary school, which is expected to open in time for the 2026-27 school year.
Work on Bellefonte’s new school is now largely focused on its interiors, according to SiteLogIQ, the district’s construction management firm. The latest update provided to Bellefonte’s school board on Aug. 12 indicated crews are working to install interior infrastructure, lighting and flooring, paint walls and set up equipment inside the gymnasium and cafeteria.
Outside, crews are working to install sidewalk along what will be the building’s front parking lot. Preparations are also underway to install a base coat of asphalt on the lot and set up conduits and concrete bases for lighting fixtures.
A project to construct an intersection outside the school is out to bid, SiteLogIQ said in its most recent update. This work, which is required to achieve occupancy at the new school, is expected to finish in the fall. A separate project to install a traffic signal for the school is expected to finish next summer.
Once complete, Bellefonte’s new elementary school will span roughly 98,000 square feet and accommodate around 750 students between kindergarten and the fifth grade. Key features at the school and its 107.6-acre property behind Bellefonte Area High School include outdoor learning spaces, a STEM lab and a media center.
The project’s completion dates were once lagging about seven weeks behind schedule while some temperature-sensitive activities, including roofing and brickwork, were delayed by a harsh winter, SiteLogIQ officials said. But the latest project schedule update provided to Bellefonte’s school board says “there are no concerns with being substantially complete with this project in December 2025.”
Bellefonte Elementary School, the district’s oldest school, will close once the new school opens. Bellefonte’s new elementary school will retain the longtime school’s name.
Pleasant Gap Elementary School received a number of infrastructure upgrades this summer, including new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, a more advanced fire alarm system and lighting improvements. The building is already energized with its new systems online now that the $4.99 million project reached substantial completion, SiteLogIQ officials said. School supplies are back in their designated rooms as the school prepares to function normally as classes begin next week.
Penns Valley Area School District
No major construction projects are underway within Penns Valley’s district, which completed work on an $8.5 million parking lot renovation late last summer. The project completely renovated parking lots at both Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School as well as Penns Valley Area High School.
Soon, Penns Valley’s district will decide how to proceed with its facilities at Miles Township Elementary School, whose closure was approved just two weeks before the start of the 2025-26 school year. School board members have said the Rebersburg school’s future would be an item for consideration at future board meetings.
Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District
Major construction is not underway at any Philipsburg-Osceola school, but a former site is expected to receive significant updates soon.
Roughly $3.5 million in grant funding will fund renovations at the 1.8-acre site of the former Philipsburg-Osceola Junior High School, The Progress reported last fall. The funding, provided through Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program, will aid construction of new administrative offices for Central Intermediate Unit 10.
State College Area School District
Construction on a much-anticipated expansion of Mount Nittany Elementary School continued this summer.
The $20.95 million project, approved last December, will add a third wing to the school with six classrooms, an instrumental music classroom and a cafeteria that will allow the school to separate its gym and lunch functions. Construction includes a new bus drop-off loop and a parking lot near the existing parking area shared with Mount Nittany Middle School.
The project also calls for the construction of a 157-kilowatt solar panel array on the south-facing roofs of the existing school.
Recent work included interior framing and drywall, cabling for new clock and speaker systems and the construction of the wing’s masonry wall, according to the latest project update provided to State College’s school board. Next steps include laying out electrical duct banks, rerouting some pipes and setting steel in the existing building.
The Mount Nittany Elementary expansion project will add nearly 37,000 square feet of new construction and renovate an additional 2,939 square feet of the College Township school. Plans called for the school’s expansion to welcome students in time for the start of the 2026-27 school year.
State College’s district is also preparing to begin construction on a new Park Forest Middle School that will replace the 54-year-old school of the same name, which was last renovated in 1995.
The latest estimates presented before State College’s school board suggest the new middle school project could cost between roughly $127.9 and $136.9 million. With bidding processes slated to begin this fall, construction on the new school could start as soon as January or February 2026 and last for about two years.
Plans for the new middle school, which will sit along Little Lion Drive off of Valley Vista Drive, call for a three-story classroom wing that will have students physically “move up” through the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The gymnasium, library, cafeteria, auditorium and administrative offices will each have centralized locations on the first or second floor, according to plans presented in May.
Exterior plans for the site show a dedicated lot for bus drop-off and pickup just north of the school, while staff parking and a dedicated lane for parent drop-off and pickup are situated just south of the school. The site will keep four tennis courts and a soccer field on the parcel’s eastern side and place a stormwater basin near Valley Vista Drive.
Project officials said they intend to separate a traffic light included in the project plans into a separate bid to speed up the approval process.
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