Upper Dublin administration recommends new 84,000-square-foot Jarrettown Elementary, estimates $60 million cost

The Upper Dublin School District administration recommended building a new, 84,000-square-foot Jarrettown Elementary School and asked the Finance Committee to forward that recommendation to the full board for action.

The recommendation presented June 18 would remove options that district staff and consultants judged either too small to meet program needs or too disruptive and costly when performed as an occupied renovation. "The 84 is what I would call right sized," said Phil (ICS consultant). The administration estimated the project at $60 million and described a concept financing plan to cover the cost while limiting near-term budget disruption.

Why it matters: district staff said the current Jarrettown building dates to the 1950s, has multiple later additions and persistent space, accessibility and building-system deficiencies. Consultants and administrators argued a new building would address ADA, layout, educational program modernization, safety and parking while minimizing student disruption during construction compared with an extensive occupied renovation.

In committee discussion, administrators said they eliminated a basic systems-only fix (option 1) as inadequate, and eliminated larger 94,000-square-foot concepts (options 5 and 6) as oversized compared with priorities identified by teachers, staff and the community. A major occupied renovation plus addition (option 3) remained under consideration until committee members heard details about the phasing required for occupied work — including multiple temporary main entrances, repeated classroom moves, extensive modular classroom rentals and seven construction phases — which administrators said would be substantially disruptive to learning.

"You could do all those things, but they are going to be some impacts: noise, odor, you will have to separate construction people from students," Phil said, describing the challenges of occupied renovation. Dr. Smith added it could be a three-year process that would affect students’ instructional environment and programs, including meals and physical education, at times during construction.

Administration presented a concept financing model: borrow roughly $45 million amortized over 25 years (estimated debt service about $3.2 million annually), allocate $11 million from the district’s capital reserve designated for Jarrettown, and use roughly $5 million currently held in the district’s debt service fund to cover the first three years of debt service while replenishing capital reserves with planned annual transfers. Administration and its financial advisor PFM described the plan as conceptual and subject to change as schematic design and cash-flow timing become clearer.

Committee members expressed concern about cost and tax impacts but repeatedly cited student disruption as a deciding factor. Several members — including Jenna, Stu and John — said the reduced disruption of a new-build option made option 4 the preferable path even though it carried a higher construction price tag than some renovation options.

Next steps: the committee agreed to forward a recommendation to the legislative board meeting to authorize the administration to enter an agreement with ICS to proceed with design and project services for option 4, and to continue detailed design, budget refinement and financing work. Administrators stressed the June action would not obligate the district to construction contracts; construction authorization would occur later in the design-and-bid sequence.

What remains open: administrators noted the $60 million is an early estimate and that schematic design will refine the program, square footage and cost. They said land-development permitting, site layout (including tree preservation and field layouts) and final program choices could change both cost and timeline. They also reiterated the board could pause before bidding if conditions (construction market, interest rates or district priorities) warranted delay.

Ending note: the committee’s recommendation to move forward to the board will appear on the next legislative agenda; if the board approves, the district will begin schematic design and more detailed budget and borrowing work.