Bethel Park students entering last school year in 6 district buildings

When students report to Bethel Park schools on Aug. 21 for the first day of classes, it will mark the end of an era as the final year for education at six of the district’s buildings.

Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Memorial and William Penn elementary schools are scheduled to close in the spring, as is Neil Armstrong Middle School.

For the 2026-27 school year, youngsters in kindergarten through fifth grade will attend the new Bethel Park Elementary Center, which is currently under construction off Kings School Road at an estimated cost of $133 million. The three-story, 280,000-square-foot building is designed to accommodate up to 1,800 students.

As the 2025-26 academic year approaches, a multiyear project at Independence Middle School is nearing completion. The final phase includes a new gymnasium, locker room area and music suite, plus a roof replacement for which the district received $1.7 million through the state’s Public School Facilities Improvement grant program.

“It’s all expected to be ready for student occupancy in the middle of August,” Superintendent James Walsh said. “The contractors will be on site for a couple of more months to do the cleanup and touch-up work before it’s completely, officially finished.”

Independence has a new principal, with James Fodse succeeding Racquel Sutton as part of a round of administrative shuffling.

In April, the school board promoted high school principal Joseph Villani to assistant superintendent for secondary education. Sutton takes Villani’s place at the high school, where Fodse served as assistant principal.

For 2025-26, Independence continues to serve seventh- and eighth-grade students. The school will return to a previous configuration with the addition of sixth graders the following year.

In the coming year, students in fifth and sixth grade will attend Neil Armstrong. Following its closure, a future use could include a new site for the district’s administrative offices, according to Walsh.

“Before- and after-school care programs that are privately run would be able to lease space out of the Neil Armstrong building, because it’s obviously super-convenient to the new building,” he said about the elementary center, which is located on the same property. “And we’ll be open to any other possible interests that would be conducive to a school building environment.”

A school board subcommittee is examining the uses for all the buildings that will no longer house students. The municipality of Bethel Park has intentions to acquire Franklin and Washington as a means to expand recreational opportunities for the community.

“At Memorial, there’s a group of nonprofits that are looking closely at taking possession of that building for their programming,” Walsh said. “The other two buildings will likely be auctioned.”

James Cromie, district director of communications, said district officials are pursuing community-friendly uses.

“We want to make sure we’re good stewards of these facilities and good neighbors,” he said. “So it’s not really about trying to get the most money or the most bang for the buck as much as it is finding a way to make sure these facilities continue to positively impact Bethel Park going into the future.”

With six buildings entering their final year as schools, Cromie said the respective parent-teacher organizations are planning activities such as planting time capsules and producing commemorative videos.

“We also intend to have ceremonies toward the end of the school year that will allow people to come back to those old buildings and say goodbye,” he said.

The school closings will leave the district with three educational buildings as of 2026-27: the elementary center, Independence and the high school. A staffing plan includes no furloughs, according to Walsh.

“We have it all figured out, all the way down to the custodial shifts and the secretarial assignments and nurses,” the superintendent said.

While some community members initially balked at the idea of elementary-school consolidation, Walsh said the general attitude seems to have shifted in a positive direction.

“Seeing what they’re going to get and what’s going to be available has made it exciting and enticing,” he said. “The part that I think we don’t emphasize enough is that we’re going to be able to have all of the support services and programs in one building, one location. Today, unfortunately, we have to bus kids across town to get to a particular program that they need, because it’s not in their home neighborhood school.”

Above all, the new building’s design and details are intended to provide Bethel Park youngsters with a superior academic start.

“While our elementary schools that we are retiring have played an important role in our story,” he said, “we are confident that with the new modern touches and collaboration activities, this facility will provide our students with a really strong 21st-century education.”

For more information, visit bpsdbestinclass.org.