Elizabethtown feasibility study presents three options for 6–12 campus; community presses for costs, safety and timing

Elizabethtown Area School District officials and the district’s design team presented the results of a feasibility study for the middle- and high-school complex during a public information session, outlining three options that range from extensive repairs to building a new 6–12 campus.

Dr. Karen Nell, superintendent of Elizabethtown Area School District, opened the meeting and said the session was intended to provide information and gather community questions and comments. RLPS Architects, supported by Barton Engineering, summarized the district’s facility assessment and proposed three paths forward: (1) required maintenance and repairs to keep the existing building operational, (2) strategic additions and renovations that would demolish part of the complex and add a new middle-school wing, and (3) build a new combined middle and high school and demolish most of the existing facility.

The firm said the district’s current building footprint is roughly 433,000 square feet, last comprehensively renovated in 1996, and contains inefficiencies including many internal stair towers and 39 educational spaces…