Facing enrollment declines, this Centre County district could consolidate schools
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- The Bald Eagle Area School District is reviewing findings from a feasibility study.
- Enrollment has declined greatly since the start of the 21st century.
- The district could consolidate schools, but it has not yet taken action.
Major changes could be in the works for a Centre County school district facing enrollment declines.
The Bald Eagle Area School District board of directors received a briefing Wednesday that reviewed some findings of a recent feasibility study examining district facilities. The presentation marked the beginning of a gradual process that could result in significant shakeups throughout the district, including the potential consolidation of its schools.
The study, conducted by the Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates architectural firm, aimed to start discussions and planning regarding the district’s future. The presentation shared at the school board meeting outlined falling enrollment within Bald Eagle area schools, the current utilization of district facilities and a few proposals to help the district balance out and plan for the future.
Like some other Centre County districts, the Bald Eagle Area School District’s enrollment has fallen sharply through the first quarter of the 21st century. Roughly 2,200 students attended Bald Eagle Area’s schools during the 2001-02 academic year, but current district enrollment sits at 1,476 students.
Findings from the feasibility study suggest enrollment is likely to continue decreasing at a slow, steady pace.
“We’ve lost about a third of our student population in the last 25 years,” district superintendent Christopher Santini said before the audience at Wednesday’s school board meeting. “So, when you all went to school here, you were probably in these buildings with a full class of classmates, maybe multiple classes per grade level in some of these buildings. That really is a totally different situation right now.”
Declines in student enrollment leave Bald Eagle Area’s schools with significant underutilized capacity, the study’s authors wrote. When comparing each school’s student capacity to enrollment figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the report found the district’s elementary schools and the Bald Eagle Area Junior-Senior High School are utilizing roughly 65% and 54% of their total capacities, respectively.
Significant excesses of seats at its elementary and secondary schools will give the Bald Eagle Area School District a wide range of options moving forward, the report said. District officials could consider consolidating facilities, expanding programs, reconfiguring class sizes and grade structures or even renting spaces to third parties.
Currently, the district’s four elementary schools combine for six core classrooms per grade: three for each grade at Wingate Elementary School and one per grade at the Port Matilda, Mountaintop and Howard elementary schools. But class sizes across the district’s elementary schools widely vary per grade, Santini said, as one school might have a class size of six students while other buildings are up to 25 or 28 students.
Though the district has not yet formally considered taking any action from the report’s findings, the feasibility study floated possible plans for a two-phased approach that would consolidate schools.
The first phase of the presentation’s hypothetical plan would reorganize the district’s elementary-level grades to accommodate more students at Wingate Elementary. The proposal suggested bringing some grades together to put five core classes per grade in the building and form a dedicated wing for the fifth and sixth grades inside Bald Eagle Area Junior/Senior High School adjacent to the elementary school.
That hypothetical plan’s second phase would consist of sweeping renovations at Wingate Elementary School to help it better accommodate more students and district services. A draft included in the presentation showed an expanded elementary school campus that includes larger parking lots with optimized traffic flow, new outdoor play spaces and renovated facilities.
Could Bald Eagle Area School District close schools?
Though closing some elementary schools could be on the table eventually, the Bald Eagle Area School District has not yet taken any steps toward it.
In a memo shared last week answering “frequently asked questions” from the feasibility study, district officials said Wingate Elementary does not have enough room to bring all elementary students to its campus for the 2026-27 school year. Doing so would require lengthy planning and coordination.
“If the board chose to pursue that option, it would take at least three years,” the memo reads. “As such, it is highly unlikely that school closures will take place during this process.”
The process would also require public hearings and several approvals before taking effect.
The district is also expected to review its current school choice policy, which allows parents to send their students to the elementary school of their choosing regardless of where they reside. Though the policy was previously thought to help boost enrollment at the outlying schools, district officials found it has produced a negative effect on enrollment there, instead increasing student counts at Wingate Elementary.
Any modifications to the school choice policy would apply to incoming kindergarten students, the memo said. Revisions are subject to approval from the school board, which has not yet considered any proposals.
What happens next?
Findings presented at last week’s school board meeting represent just a portion of the feasibility study conducted for the Bald Eagle Area School District. Another presentation on tap for March 25’s board meeting is expected to cover district finances and cost estimates for proposed consolidation efforts.
Tina Greene, the school board president, stressed the presentation marks the beginning of a lengthy process to evaluate steps the Bald Eagle Area School District can take to manage its facilities and plan for the future.
“There’s a lot for us to take into consideration, and there’s a lot that we don’t know yet,” Greene said. “We’re just gathering the information now so that we can make the best decision moving forward for everyone.”
The Bald Eagle Area School District is the latest Centre County district to take steps toward sweeping changes as enrollment declines. The Penns Valley Area School District closed its oldest elementary school last summer, while the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District is working to outline plans that will restructure its educational services and combat a projected budget deficit.
Santini said his district is considering consolidation and reorganization to put itself on stronger footing moving forward.
“We’re not in that position,” Santini said, comparing Bald Eagle’s district to others in the area. “Fortunately, previous boards managed the financing of our district very well. We’re not in a position where we’re forced to do some of those things [like layoffs and furloughs]. The issue is, if we don’t get ahead of that, it’s going to be forced upon us at some point down the road.”
Santini encouraged Bald Eagle Area families and community members to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas with the district as the school board reviews results from the feasibility study.
“Ultimately, the goal is to be able to serve your kids in the best manner possible long into the future without bankrupting the district,” the superintendent said. “It’s going to take a lot of planning, and that’s the process we have started with this meeting.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 6:03 AM.
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