Hempfield Area drafts 3D designs for high school renovation

Five years after Hempfield Area School District approved a feasibility study for a renovation of its 1956 high school, the district is starting to nail down what the refurbished building will look like.

Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project in October, and the school board advanced a schematic design in May. Now, district officials are drafting 3D designs for the renovated building before sending the project out to bid — hopefully around Christmas, Superintendent Mark Holtzman said.

The ballpark $150 million project is less complex than one might think, Holtzman said.

Though aesthetic improvements will be made throughout the building, the main component of the renovation is a two-story addition on the front of the school, connecting the auditorium to the pool.

The district plans to use this space as an innovation center — which could include offices for school administrators, a media center, a school store, an innovation lab, collaborative spaces for students and flexible-use classrooms, Holtzman said. A courtyard between the addition and the current front entrance could be used for outdoor classroom space.

Traffic flow and parking will be reworked, and an addition will be made to the front of the field house to serve as a lobby during community events or sports. The school’s pool also will be replaced.

“The project itself is pretty straightforward,” Holtzman said. “It’s not overwhelming. What is overwhelming is going to be as things come together in a modern world with colors, fixtures, furniture … technology, access, things like that.”

Project timeline

The high school renovation has been a topic of discussion among district officials, parents and students for about five years.

A feasibility study approved in December 2020 was advanced in April 2021 when the school board hired Minnesota- based SitelogIQ to complete the nine-month assessment for no more than $22,500.

The school board decided in March 2022 to gut and renovate the high school, initiating a borrowing plan the following month to pay for the project. The project was assigned in January 2023 an estimated $128 million budget — which climbed to $132 million that June.

When bids came in higher than expected for the first phase of the project in August 2023, SitelogIQ estimated the renovation would cost between $148 million and $150 million.

The architect for the project, Core Architects, resigned from the project in February 2024.

In addition to the $16 million to $18 million estimated cost increase, the proposed renovation project also violated Act 34, Holtzman said. Also known as the “Taj Mahal Act,” Act 34 is a 1973 law that guides the construction of new school buildings and some additions — specifically those that are larger than 20% of the existing school building’s size.

The law essentially prohibits districts from overbuilding or overspending, Holtzman said. If a district wants to initiate a project that oversteps Act 34’s regulations, a hearing and referendum are required.

A project falls out of compliance with Act 34 if its maximum estimated cost exceeds the aggregate building expenditure standard — calculated by multiplying the building’s capacity and the applicable per pupil cost limit determined by the state.

Per pupil costs are updated each fiscal year. The current rates are $25,785 for K-6 buildings, $38,664 for 7-9 and $47,892 for 10-12, according to the Department of Education.

Hempfield Area intends to avoid Act 34 hearings and referendums altogether, Holtzman said.

“In any change order or anything that could occur during a project that could … push that square footage over the limit, it shuts the project down,” Holtzman said. “We have to be careful to stay not only under it, but give ourselves some room in case there’s a need to add something that we didn’t anticipate.

“I think, overall, our folks have been very good at educating us on it and explaining to our school board directors what it is that we’re trying to accomplish. We’re optimistic that we’re going to stay out of the mud with that.”

Back on track

Under the guidance of architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, hired in April 2024, the district is back on track with the high school renovation — tentatively aiming to break ground in June and wrap construction in June 2029.

The district will have to initiate another borrowing plan to pay for the renovation, Holtzman said.

It previously borrowed $100 million for the project — about $5 million of which was used for roof replacements and other urgent repairs at the high school. The remaining funds were invested, generating about $8 million in interest for the district.

“At this point, we have to do a second borrowing, maybe a third, to offset the difference, because that money that was borrowed at the time was not going to cover the old project or this project,” Holtzman said. “But it is a nice portion of financial positioning.”

Initiating another borrowing plan will not further impact the district’s debt service, Holtzman said.

Community transparency

Once the renovation is complete, Hempfield Area plans to shift its freshman students back into the high school. Since the 2023-24 school year, ninth graders have been housed at Harrold School, the former middle school located across the street from the high school.

The move was made to help the district work through renovations during the school year, according to the district’s website.

To Assistant Superintendent Matthew Conner’s surprise, the move has actually benefited incoming high school students.

“The staff and parents, and in fact kids when we speak to them, they really thought that having that separate space for freshmen — where they can assimilate from the two middle schools into one (building) — has been very beneficial,” Conner said.

“These administrators have spoken very highly that these 10th graders are coming over (to the high school) much more ready to roll.”

The concept, often referred to as “freshman academy,” is used in school districts nationwide. Hempfield aims to work the concept into its renovation plan, creating a designated wing for core ninth grade classes, Conner said.

After project setbacks in 2023-24, Holtzman said the district aims to be more careful with how it communicates renovation updates with the community.

“You start sharing with the community renderings and details and that’s what they expect — and I think that’s what happened in the last project,” Holtzman said. “They had town hall meetings and they shared ideas and they had people visiting the building for the last time and all these things that happened. And then the project fell apart and everybody was so disappointed and frustrated.

“In this case, we’re trying to be intentional and prepare to share things when we can through the media outlets, through Facebook, through social media. But at the same time, we’re being careful not to overshare until we know that the details are locked in and the project’s a go and the bids turn out well.”