Pennbrook Middle School.
North Penn School District middle schoolers may continue to sweat it out during hotter months for almost another decade.
The reality of bringing air conditioning to Pennbrook, Pennfield and Penndale middle schools was discussed Aug. 30 at the North Penn Facilities and Operations Committee meeting, and, at this time, air conditioning installation remains a costly undertaking. Per the district’s 10-year building and renovation plan, any serious discussions on the subject would not occur until 2028 at the earliest.
Furthermore, North Penn High School would take priority over the middle schools for any major air conditioning upgrades and renovations.
During the Aug. 30 meeting, District Director of Facilities and Operations Tom Schneider said there was an estimate provided in 2016 by an architect for air conditioning in the middle schools, and in Gwyn-Nor, Knapp and Oak Park elementary schools. All the elementary schools were renovated for air conditioning, and Knapp is currently undergoing renovations.
Schneider said the estimates for the three middle schools alone was $30 million: Pennbrook was estimated at costing $7.8 million, Pennfield was estimated at $8.8 million and Penndale was estimated to cost $12.9 million. The estimates for Pennbrook and Pennfield were for the main buildings only and not the existing modular classroom structures, Schneider said, of which Pennbrook has 22 and Pennfield as 14.
“It would be an awful lot of expense to install air conditioning in those buildings,” Schneider said. “And possibly in the future, if there is renovations to eliminate modular classroom structures and turn them into permanent construction, the air conditioning plan would be completely redone.”
In April 2019, the district held a community forum to hear about and give input on future district building and renovation needs. It was reported at the meeting that any renovation work at the high school would tentatively begin in 2021, when construction of a ninth-grade center would begin. By 2023, the ninth-grade center would house 10th, 11th and 12th graders through 2027. By 2028, ninth graders would then move to North Penn High School in Fall 2028.
The district would then begin talks and plans for the middle schools closer to 2028, which would include discussions on air conditioning, the consolidation of the middle schools into two schools, and the renovation or closing of Penndale.
“We did take a look at what the estimates were to put air conditioning in the middle schools, and the conclusion we arrived at was appropriate: the timing wasn’t right to do that and to embark on a project on that when so many other projects are at play,” Superintendent Dr. Curt Dietrich said at the Aug. 30 meeting.
Dietrich reiterated that once the ninth grade moved to the high school campus as part of the high school renovation project, then the district would decide whether it will remain with a kindergarten to sixth grade in the elementary school and seventh and eighth grades at the middle school pattern, or perhaps make the elementary schools K-5 and 6-8 at the middle school. The district would also discuss whether modular classrooms would be phased out completely.
“What about Penndale? The feasibility study we worked on and being able to renovate was extremely costly. No decision was made regarding Penndale,” Dietrich said, referencing the April 2019 forum. “The thought might be we will not need Penndale, and if we didn’t need it, it did not make sense to dump money into something that could be sold or demolished.”
Schneider said the $30 million estimate from 2016 would possibly cost $40 million with today’s construction costs. He said the $30 million estimate was exclusively for installation of air conditioning only and not interior renovations.
“It is a mechanical project,” Schneider said.
School Board Director Jonathan Kassa, who chairs the Facilities and Operations Committee, said the district had no plan or strategy for air conditioning renovations prior to the current 10-year plan.
“The board had a goal to make sure we got air conditioning in the elementary schools and finalize that. It’s the same logic and approach that applies to the middle schools and taking into larger consideration of North Penn High School and the systems which are functioning thanks to good luck and dedication of an amazing staff,” Kassa said. “Are we going to renovate North Penn High School, and if the need exists, the rest of the priorities have to come in place.”
Kassa said the $30 million coming off the money tree now does not include the spaces that the modular classrooms use at the district schools.
“Decades and decades of temporary mods have been used and that is something we find to be unacceptable,” Kassa said. “It’s why, for the first time ever at Pennbrook, we made sure the rugs were ripped out and tiles floors put in and we refurbished those units. These mods are a major obstacle for North Penn to having 21st Century facilities for our children.”
Kassa said none of the board members are happy with the lack of air conditioning. Dietrich said it would be extremely difficult to bring air conditioning to the middle schools sooner in a way that is cost-effective.
“The high school has to be next,” Dietrich said. “It’s an old, old system there. There are roof drain issues and penetration of water. It continues to be a challenge at the high school. As we ready ourselves for that in the middle schools, there needs to be discussion on grade patterns and ramifications at the elementary level.”
School Board President Tina Stoll said she and her fellow board members ran for office on a platform of fiscal responsibility.
“These projects are extremely expensive, and we want to stay within the Act 1 index. We’d all like to get the work done sooner. I think it’s better to stick to a tinier plan,” Stoll said. “We have to make sure we are addressing everything comprehensively but doing it in a fiscally responsible way.”
The state Department of Education has calculated the Act 1 index for the 2021-22 fiscal year at three percent. Taxes cannot exceed the Act 1 index, although there are exceptions. Thus, the district would make sure to keep debt service, as well as salaries, healthcare costs, transportation, and curriculum costs, under the Act 1 index.
In 2006, the State Legislature passed Act 1, which requires school districts to seek voter approval for tax increases greater than the index. According to the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the index, calculated each year by the state Department of Education, factors in the annual increase in the statewide average weekly wage for the prior year, the increase in the Employment Cost Index for Elementary and Secondary Schools for the prior year, and a school district’s local wealth.
District Chief Financial Officer Steve Skrocki said one cannot compare an $8 million Crawford Stadium renovation project to a $30 million-plus air conditioning project. Crawford Stadium’s project, he said, was funded from capital reserve funds and was a planned and funded approach.
“It’s not an equal comparison to begin with,” he said. “One wasn’t done at the exclusion of the other. It’s all on the radar. It’s a matter of priorities and matter of available funds.”
Skrocki said the capital reserve fund is separate from the general fund and is used to purchase school buses and fund capital upgrades or renovation projects. Money gets to the capital reserve fund either from a planned transfer from the general fund or from unspent money transferred at the end of the fiscal year.
“Crawford was a measured approach. It took several years to build up the fund to have dollars. No money was borrowed for Crawford Stadium,” he said. “If we embarked on air conditioning for $30 or $40 million, there would have to be debt for that and borrowing through a bond issue. Then, if we borrow $35 million, we are going to repay something more than $35 million.”
Skrocki said if the district borrowed money for air conditioning renovations, it would “no question” hamper the ability to raise funds through a bond issue. Board Director Cathy Wesley asked if it would affect the district bond rating. Skrocki said the district is at a AA1 bond rating through rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, and the higher the rating, the lower credit risk you are through the eyes of Moody’s.
“The $40 million debt would have drawn down the fund balance. The fund balance is a critical factor in our bond rating. We have a Goldilocks fund balance: It’s not too high, it’s not too low, it’s perfect in the eyes of Moody’s. The only thing higher is a AAA rating,” Skrocki said. “We want to keep it that way. Our goal is to get to a AAA rating, which I think we have a shot at.”
See also:
North Penn to Require Indoor Masking for All Students, Staff, and Visitors, Effective Thursday
Upcoming School Board Meeting Moved to High School Auditorium, Public Comment Time Reduced
Police Called After Tempers Flare Over Mask Policy at North Penn School Board Meeting
