Building assessment to be made of two North Allegheny schools

A comprehensive facilities assessment beginning in April will help determine whether North Allegheny’s intermediate and senior high schools need upgrades or should be replaced.

On March 23, the North Allegheny School Board selected the firm of Weber Murphy Fox, which provides architecture, interior design, land development and construction management services, to complete a comprehensive educational facilities study, a demographic study and master planning for the intermediate and senior high schools at a cost of $78,300.

Weber Murphy Fox has offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“The district will begin to analyze the aging infrastructure at our high school campuses with the goal of creating a plan forward for North Allegheny this spring,” according to Mark Trichtinger, director of operations for North Allegheny.

The feasibility study will help determine whether to renovate, replace or rebuild either high school, according to Trichtinger during the March school board meeting.

The initial assessment is included in the 2022-23 capital funding plan and is the first step in determining the needs of the district’s high schools and the options and costs in meeting them, according to the board’s March 23 meeting agenda.

In this first phase, Weber Murphy Fox will complete a full assessment of the infrastructure at both high schools. This will include: an educational survey and programming; utilization and capacity analysis; a demographic and enrollment study; public engagement and committee workshop; feasibility studies and options; site planning; capital planning, and master planning, according to Trichtinger.

There are three main parts in the timeline of potential renovations or replacements of the high schools, which are assessment, design, and construction.

The timeline is subject to change depending on the school board’s approval at each phase of the project, according to Trichtinger.

The initial assessment beginning in spring is expected to take nine to 12 months with Weber Murphy Fox analyzing North Allegheny Intermediate and North Allegheny Senior High School facilities. At the end of this assessment, the board will vote on a plan forward.

The design step would take 18 months, beginning in the spring of next year, pending board approval.

Finally, a project would move into the construction phase, which is expected to take three to five years, according to Trichtinger.

Financing options would be determined at each phase of the process.

There will be monthly meetings conducted on the first Wednesday of each month with a steering committee during the assessment process this spring. Some the participants would be principals and school board members.

Meetings would be conducted with other NA staff and students in April and May of 2022 to get feedback.

The community will be updated through weekly newsletters and on the district website.

“I know a lot of people are excited about what’s to come,” said NA School Board Member Shannon Yeakel.