Quaker Valley School District officials have rehired a consultant to help with more community engagement with the proposed high school project.

The board approved a $13,500 agreement with BrainSpaces Inc. on Tuesday night.

Consultants will work with architects and the public in brainstorming sessions and related efforts starting immediately to craft a summary presentation for the board reflecting what district communities want in and from the high school.

District director of facilities Charlie Gauthier said the plan is to have something ready in November and use that information in the design phase of the project.

About 100 people will be split into groups for the first session this month.

“Each group will have something to brainstorm, something that they want at the school,” Gauthier said. “This is strictly building what do you want to see. What do you want to see it look like?”

October sessions have yet to be scheduled.

More information, including how to sign up for the sessions will be posted in the next few weeks on the district’s website, qvsd.org, as well as on its Facebook pages.

BrainSpaces was involved in community engagement for the project in 2017 and released a pre-design summary in October 2018.

The report featured various highlights from its sessions including quotes and insights gathered from teachers, students and community members. It also focused on facility and educational planning as well as possible instructional activities.

The report was posted on the Blueprint QV section of the district’s website.

There are also other tabs such as “questions and answers” and “research and studies” on the Blueprint page with more information about the proposed high school.

The proposed school is on 150 acres of land off of Camp Meeting Road. It straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale.

The preliminary plan for the school would use 47 acres for the building and grounds. The site already has 10 acres cleared out, but the district wants to leave a lot of landscape as a buffer.

No further construction is expected for a while as the district is still in the process of acquiring zoning approvals from Leet.

Gauthier said a hearing took place Friday with more testimony expected in mid-October. It is unclear when the township’s zoning hearing board may approve a special exception for the school.

The project is estimated between $85 million and $95 million to be paid for through a bond.

It’s unclear when specifications would be ready to go out for bid.

The hope is to have it built and ready for students by the 2025-26 school year, Gauthier said.

Hiring a consultant is another step forward in having the project come to fruition.

The board unanimously voted on Aug. 30 to approve a near $553,000 deal with Phillips & Associates, contingent upon review and approval from district Solicitor Don Palmer.

The firm was selected out of five companies to help craft a site plan and work with representatives from BSHM and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architects on future high school-related matters.

District officials and architects led tours of the site in June.

A video introducing the architects was posted on the district’s YouTube page on Aug. 31.

“I think we’re probably a little bit behind where we like to be, but I like the process that we’ve followed and where we are with that process,” Gauthier said. “I just wish we’d be a little further along in the schedule of the process and the special exception (from Leet).

“If we would have had that, we probably could have started at the beginning of the school year some of these community workshops and moved on into schematic design and design development. Once we get approval we’ll start on designing the building.”

Board member Sarah Heres encouraged people to review the proposed high school information on the website, and commended all involved in the project.

“I hope we can all continue to work together to bring this high school to fruition for this community because most of us support it and it should happen,” she said.

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