Inaction is no longer an option for North Penn School District when it comes to the future of the 52-year-old North Penn High School and 21st Century learning.
In fact, as presented at an informational school board work session at the high school Monday night by district financial advisor PFM and district architect SCHRADERGROUP, there are two administration-recommended options for the board – and, perhaps, the voters via an electoral debt ballot referendum at a December 2023 or January 2024 special election – and it all revolves around bringing a ninth-grade center to the high school campus in Towamencin by 2030.
Option One carries an estimated $400.8 million price tag and a required voter referendum to vote for or against spending $94 million of that $400 million on a new ninth-grade center, while Option Two is far less costly at an estimated $236.3 million, but with no ninth-grade center. Option Two would require, per the presentation, an estimated $15 million or more in “throw away dollars” for modular construction in order to put students and teachers somewhere during renovations. Once renovations are complete, the modulars will no longer be used.
Both options call for the district to spend an estimated $3 million to acquire property somewhere in the district to relocate the transportation center and bus garage, and then turn the current center, as well as the district-owned former WNPV 1440-AM parcel, into athletic fields and parking.
Option One, however, would call for all new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and lighting as part of the district’s “reimagined, collaborative, and flexible learning spaces.” Gone would be J-Pod, and in its place, a central technologically updated common area. Other pods would see complete renovations into open learning areas and flexible learning spaces.
It would also mean the potential transition to only two middle schools in the future, thus eliminating the need for historic Penndale Middle School. Along with that would come the possibility for air conditioning at the middle schools and grade configurations to either K-6, 7-9, 10-12, K-6, 7-8, 9-12, or K-5, 6-8, 9-12.
On the contrary, Option Two is being touted as a basic renovation of and replacement of all systems, and there would be zero change to the layout or functionality of the current high school. It would also require the renovation of all three middle schools in the future.
The two-hour informational presentation on Monday — along with its 75 slides, which outlined options, design, financing, and taxes — was the launching pad of the timeline for the high school renovation, with a community forum and dialogue set for April 13 at 6 p.m. at Pennbrook Middle School. One of the options will be voted on by the school board later this year, and regardless of the referendum passing, shovels would hit the ground in 2025.
The issue at-hand, according to district administration, is the tatterdemalion high school is outdated, dilapidated, antiquated, and disintegrated. And it is leaving administrators, faculty, staff, and 3,000 high school students exasperated.
District Administrator of Secondary Education and Renovation Pete Nicholson, who was a former principal at the high school, said Monday night that there has never been a full-scale renovation at the school since it was built in 1971.
“There is a cycle to keeping our facilities and protecting assets,” Nicholson said.
The district’s current capital project plan calls for $114 million in high school needs, he said. In other words, much needs to be done to meet needs of students for the next 50 years.
“The age is showing, and not just its 1970s-inspired paint palette,” narrated district Coordinator of Communication Media Bob Gillmer in an introductory video at the meeting. “The HVAC system utilizes the same pneumatic technology from the 1960s Apollo era.”
In discussing the differences in both options, District Superintendent Dr. Todd Bauer said Option Two would keep the building as-is and aligned with the facilities assessment done in 2017.
“It would not reimagine the space; it would give the space itself a facelift,” he said. “I recognize that the numbers are dramatically different. Please keep in mind, Option One would require renovation of two middle schools, not three. In Option Two, if there was not an addition to North Penn High School, it would necessitate us to bring modular construction (to the high school) as a swing space while we renovate portions of the building.”
Bauer said under Option One, the ninth-grade addition would happen first, then the rest of the school would be renovated, with ninth-graders then coming onto campus last.
As far as taxes, it is estimated that, with Option One, over a 32-year debt service period, taxes will increase to a cumulative total of $7,165 over 32 years for a home with an assessed value of $150,000 and an implied market value of $379,459, according to the presentation. For a home assessed at $300,000 and an implied market value of $758,917, the taxes will increase to a cumulative total of $14,330 over a 32-year period.
Under Option Two, for a $150,000 assessed home value, the estimated cumulative taxpayer impact over 32 years is $2,015. For a home assessed at $300,000, the cumulative taxes would be about $4,029 over 32 years. At the end of the 32 year period, the annual tax increase per year would be averaged out to $71 for the former and $142 for the latter.
“The debt discussed here and the impact on real estate taxes by PFM was reflective of this project alone,” Bauer said. “Historically, school districts do raise taxes each year, but these numbers are for the impact of this project exclusively. It is our recommendation that one of these two projects happen.”
SCHRADERGROUP principal David Schrader told the board and the few taxpayers in attendance, that, while the $114 million capital project list is for items to keep the building functioning, “the other two numbers sound huge but are relative to kind of fixing the car as you go.”
“Walking in tonight and looking at the cornerstone of K-Pod, which is 1999, that’s already 24 years old,” Schrader said. “That doesn’t speak to the balance of the building but think about what you typically hear from many architects and builders about lifespan of buildings: that lifespan is typically 30 years.”
Option One, Schrader said, would add about 200,000 square feet to the high school, which includes a centralized commons area near the natatorium, performing arts, and athletic spaces, the new ninth-grade center on the right side of the school by the bus drop-off, an expansion of physical education and athletics departments — with, possibly, a multi-use indoor track — and a newly-refurbished auditorium and cafeteria.
“You are rethinking the entire property, adding spaces you need, and taking the entire interior of the building and repurposing it,” he said. “[The commons] becomes a place used as a community space in the building all day long. What we are seeing as trends is they use the spaces for dining and studying, all day and evening long.”
SCHRADERGROUP is using the newly-renovated Upper Merion Area High School as inspiration for renovation.
“Food service becomes more like the scattered systems you see in a college or food court setup, with flexibility on how you pick and choose and grab food,” Schrader said.
While students would have areas for project-based spaces and teaming spaces to work on projects, the adaptability and flexibility would extend to teachers and faculty. Schrader said there would be instructional planning centers for teachers “so they are not married to the classroom and have their own office spaces to produce lesson plans.”
Lockers, he said, would become a thing of the past.
“Option One is meant to encompass all ideas for next-generation learning, plus bringing ninth grade to the site,” he said.
Budgeting and Referendums
When it comes to budget estimate assumptions, Schrader said costs assume 4% of annual construction cost escalation from this point forward. Construction costs are hard costs related to building and site work, and soft costs include design fees, permit costs, legal fees, and the like.
“The differential here is Option One takes a $20 million round number and converts it to next-generation space,” Schrader said.
The Option One total escalated cost of $400.8 million encompasses $94 million in ninth-grade new construction hard and soft costs, $288 million in new additions and renovations to the high school, $14 million for transportation center construction, and $3 million for transportation center site acquisition, according to the presentation.
Option Two’s $236.3 million escalated cost encompasses $218 million for high school renovations and additions, including the $15 million in what Schrader said was “throw-away dollars” for temporary modulars, $14 million for transportation center construction, and $3 million for transportation center site acquisition.
“Construction costs and escalation takes that renovation cost and moves it out to probably between 2026 to 2029,” he said.
District CFO Steve Skrocki called the referendum “the ultimate form of democracy,” as it is the result of the question that is posed to and be determined by the voters of the district.
“(For Option One,) there will be a ballot question and voters decide yes we are in favor of or no we are not in favor of this project,” Skrocki said. “For this to be feasible for us to be able to sustain the budget economically, the referendum would be necessary for the $400 million project.”
Skroki said a referendum can occur during a general, Primary, municipal or special election. Furthermore, there are two types of referenda: an electoral debt referendum and a backend referendum, which allows the district to have its budget passed in excess of the Act 1 index, he said.
“If the referendum would be approved, it would allow that ($94 million) debt that is part of the referendum to be exempt from the borrowing base,” he said. “If passed, the referendum would allow any debt incurred to be exempt from the Act 1 limit.”
Skrocki said the Act 1 is a law passed in 2006 that establishes the inflationary index each year for the district. The district cannot raise taxes higher than the Act 1 index, except for electoral debt, he said. The Act 1 index come the July 1 fiscal year is 4.1%, he said.
“Any debt incurred via electoral referendum means that the school board could elect to raise taxes above those figures,” he said.
The district would borrow $3 million this year to acquire the land for the new transportation center. Each of the district’s future electoral borrowings, per the presentation, would be done using a level debt service structure over 25 years. Any non-electoral borrowings, would be done using a wrap-around debt service over 25 years.
“What happens if the referendum is successful? [It] would allow the board to exceed the Act 1 index for that electoral debt,” Skrocki said. “If electoral debt is represented at 0.2% and the index was 4.1%, that means the board would have authority to raise taxes up to 4.3%.”
If the referendum fails, Skrocki said the same referendum cannot be put before voters again for at least 155 days, and the district would be looking at Option Two.
Following the presentation, the board asked questions of Schrader and Bauer and the public was invited to comment as well.
Board Vice President Christian Fusco asked how North Penn High School compared to other neighboring schools in terms of the age of its facilities. Bauer said Pennridge, Souderton, Perkiomen Valley, Upper Perkiomen, Central Bucks East and Central Bucks West were all renovated within the last 10 years.
“It’s an important point, besides the obvious comparison, that a person’s home value is pretty directly correlated to the district,” he said, before addressing the recent Niche College Rankings. “An area in which North Penn far and away does the poorest is facilities. It’s our facilities that people see as a detriment to the potential for their children to excel.”
“We are a phenomenal district because we have a phenomenal staff, phenomenal teachers and administrators,” Fusco said. “At the secondary level, we do not have our phenomenal facilities, which is why our administration is recommending no action is not an option. While the numbers are intimidating, it is only going to get more expensive as time goes on.”
Board President Tina Stoll said this topic has been discussed for years, even prior to the pandemic.
“I’m glad we are finally moving along with this project,” she said.
Parent Karen Coley, of Montgomery Township, said the high school is falling apart all around the students.
“Our high school facilities, design, and layout is not supporting next generation learning,” she said. “Option Two is just putting lipstick on a pig.”
Coley said students fear that the district does not care about them.
“I will gladly support a new high school and other parents like me feel the same way,” Coley said. “While we are disappointed this wasn’t done for our kids, we support the parents that come after us and their children.”
Philadelphia Eagles employee, North Penn alumni and autism public motivator Ben Hartranft, of Benergy1 Presentations, asked the board to bring inclusivity to the new high school by adding sensory rooms and the like.
“I think that’s a way to dream big and be successful,” Hartranft said.
Amy Hawthorne, a Montgomery Township parent with three children attending at the elementary, middle, and high school level, said she has been waiting for this plan to happen.
“Especially, I hear from my oldest what’s going on [at the high school],” she said, adding one of her children starts their day at the high school and then attends a middle school for a long day. “The ultimate point of all this is that ninth graders in this district are in limbo. They are not really high school students, and they are not really middle school students. I think that is a huge disservice to our community.”
See also:
North Penn School District Holding Open House for Healthcare Center
North Penn School District Business Office Earns Meritorious Budget Award
York Avenue Elementary Teacher Wins VFW Teacher of the Year Award
North Penn Issues Statement Following Settlement in Former Student’s Sex Assault Lawsuit
