Area Voters to Decide Fate of North Penn High School with Special Election on Tuesday

Dan Sokil | The Reporter•

Voters across the North Penn School District have a big decision to make on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

"Shall debt in the sum of $97,318,376 dollars for the purpose of financing new construction that includes space for ninth grade students to be educated on campus and renovations of North Penn High School be authorized to be incurred as debt approved by the electors?”

That’s the question voters will answer at the polls, after more than a year of talks on the options for renovating the high school. If a majority of voters choose "Yes,” they’ll authorize the district to borrow enough to expand the high school to add ninth grade and increase taxes to pay for that expansion beyond levels normally allowed by state law. A "No” vote means the district will proceed with a smaller-scale renovation of the current school.

District officials and the school board have asked the community to "Re-imagine NPHS” as they’ve held a series of public meetings and offered tours of the current high school throughout 2023 into 2024, discussing the need for renovations to the current school and plans to expand it to move ninth grade from the district’s three middle schools.

The board in October authorized the voter referendum, to be held on Jan. 16, 2024, asking for taxpayer approval to exceed the state Act 1 index of a tax increase to fund the borrowing of $97 million in debt needed to move ninth graders from the district’s three middle schools to the high school.

District officials and consultants have estimated a $403 million price tag for a renovation that would add classroom space for 1,000 ninth graders to move to the high school complex if the referendum passes, and if the referendum fails, district officials have proposed a $236 million renovation meant to update the utilities through the school, but with minimal expansion.

Parts of the high school have not been updated or modernized since the school originally opened in 1971, and students and staff have cited equipment failures, accessibility concerns, and congestion as problems that could be addressed with a renovation project. Moving ninth grade to the high school could allow students in that grade to take high school-level classes and extracurriculars that currently require separate travel.

Last January, the board saw a traffic study and possible road improvements needed around the campus, last February, staff outlined the recent equipment failures and problems with the current building, then in March detailed two options, adding ninth grade or keeping the current grade structure.

Invite-only meetings were held over the summer, in which residents and students tested different campus configurations, as the board voted in August to hire a project construction manager, and September brought architectural renderings showing what the new school could look like.

October’s board meeting brought a formal vote approving the Jan. 16 referendum date, then in November staff showed Towamencin’s supervisors the plans, making the case for a zoning change and showing a possible new driveway onto Sumneytown Pike at Bridle Path Drive to help handle the additional traffic.

Amid ongoing talks by the board’s facilities and operations committee, in December the district hosted a public community forum, offering tours of the high school to hundreds of district residents, fielding questions from residents, and detailing the latest plans.

During that presentation, the district outlined the educational benefits and potential increases in property values that could come with an expanded high school; the need to move the district’s bus garage and dispatch center elsewhere to free up space and reduce traffic on that site; explained the estimated $5,473 tax impact to the average taxpayer of the referendum, above and beyond the annual tax increase the board could approve without a referendum; and explained that a second high school had been discussed but dismissed as too costly.

Staff have also taken to Facebook to answer questions from community members, including livestreams as recently as Jan. 9 to answer last-minute questions ahead of the Jan. 16 vote.

"I’m ready for the community to speak, and have a voice next Tuesday, and then turn the page together. Yes or no, at least we have a decision, and we move forward,” said Superintendent Todd Bauer .

And residents have also had their say: Letters to the editor voicing perspectives both for and against the referendum can be found under the "Opinion” header on TheReporterOnline.com.

Anyone registered to vote by Jan. 1 is able to vote in the referendum, and those who already receive mail-in ballots should have automatically received one for the referendum; polling places and hours should be the same as in normal municipal primary and general elections, according to the district.

For more information visit www.NPenn.org and for more on the proposed renovations visit www.ReimagineNPHS.org.

This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.thereporteronline.com.