The NPHS power plant, circa 1970 still runs our campus electrical grid. Like much of our physical plant, this can't be good for our carbon footprint.
(The following is an editorial submission from North Penn School Board Director Jonathan Kassa, who also serves as chairman of the district’s Facilities and Operations and Safe Schools committees.)
North Penn High School opened in 1971 as a state-of-the-art building. It is a clean, well-maintained building and vibrant center of the community, as demonstrated by the nearly 6,500 vaccine doses delivered recently over two separate days.
What has gone unseen for far too long, however, is that we have 50-year-old plumbing, HVAC and electrical systems. The 1980s era addition of K-pod does not fare much better in terms of failing infrastructure.
I commend our staff for keeping the physical plant functioning long past its expiration date, as they are some of the hardest working and most creative problem solvers. Yet, we are running out of solutions with aging piping, resulting in necessary repairs where the frequency of repairs and their costs continue to increase. Add in outdated learning spaces, inefficient systems, a roof that is years-past warranty, ancient equipment and non-existent replacement parts, and we are at the point that doing nothing is not an option.
Assessment, Planning and Transparency
One of the reasons I wanted to serve as a school board director was that I could not understand decades of deferred investment by the school board in our community's buildings. That's why, three years ago, one of my first actions as chair of the Facilities & Operations (F&O) committee was to request an assessment of every district building's basic repair needs. This led to independent expert audits of specific higher-need buildings and the development of a comprehensive prioritization matrix based on the following:
Now, a public ten-year plan exists that delivers on transparency and the use of data to determine priorities. We also held public forums to review this information, hear from the experts and to learn from community feedback. The plan is regularly updated and helps to guide ongoing committee and financial planning efforts. This level of proactive strategic planning for facilities was a first for North Penn's School Board of Directors. When I was appointed chair of the F&O committee, the board had no comprehensive plan for infrastructure improvements. We do now.
Proactive Governance
Such planning, communication and transparency is essential good governance for the allocation and return-on-investment of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to keep our facilities safe and operational. This is a needed community-wide conversation in order to assess options, and now is not the time to turn our backs on three years of planning and progress.
In a short timeframe that included a global pandemic, we have witnessed the long-overdue investment in the full renovations of Knapp Elementary (1955) and Crawford Stadium (1971), renovation of the Pennbrook "temporary" mods (including the removal of 20-plus-year-old rugs) and vast emergency notification and critical security systems overhauls, to name just a few projects.
By reacting, and not investing proactively over decades, our community has accumulated at least $140,000,000 in overdue repairs that will take a decade to accomplish. These investments will be to simply keep our district's facilities functioning effectively.
This isn’t finger-pointing; these are facts that we must be able to process as a community to develop strategic solutions.
Moving Forward
The board toured NPHS in early 2019 as part of our original assessment, followed by a public meeting in the cafeteria. On March 17, as pandemic-centric leadership begins to transition towards the future, we rebooted this process. Please view the accompanying photos and the digital tour booklet which provides an overview of the state of North Penn High School’s infrastructure crisis. It is an eye-opening overview of the challenges facing us.
Our school board is committed to a student-centered approach, meeting the needs of the whole-student experience while protecting taxpayer return on investment. North Penn maintains an elite Moody’s bond rating and we have the fifth-lowest tax rate in the county out of 21 districts. We must deliver on an education that raises expectations for the success of all students and continues to support our thriving community.
It is time we commit to developing a plan for a 21st century North Penn High School campus, so that our learning environments match the highest quality of North Penn's educational accomplishments. During the many months ahead, our committee will facilitate more community opportunities to discuss the issues facing our beloved high school as we explore potential solutions.
Thank you for your continued engagement, and it is an honor to serve North Penn. I look forward to rolling up our sleeves for the work ahead, together.
Signed,
Jonathan Kassa
Chair, Facilities & Operations
Chair, Safe Schools
See also:
Editorial: It’s Time To Discuss A Ninth Grade Center At North Penn High School
Editorial: Why The Renovation Of Crawford Stadium Matters
Editorial: State Educational Mandates And Their Relationship With Property Taxes
North Penn Facilities Proposals Could Place School District In $515 Million Debt
