Upper Dublin officials weigh renovation, addition or rebuild for Jarrettown Elementary after staff survey

Consultants and district staff on March 19 updated the Upper Dublin School District Finance Committee on planning for Jarrettown Elementary, presenting three broad paths — targeted renovation, an addition plus renovation, or a full rebuild — and summarizing a staff survey that the district says will help shape next steps.

The presentation, led by Tim Geider and Phil Solomon of ICS and district staff member Andy Lekman, said a 10-question staff survey and building tours produced 57 responses (37 teachers, 18 support staff and two administrators) and validated longstanding concerns about the building’s common spaces, special-education areas, gym and cafeteria capacity, and site circulation and drop-off constraints.

Why it matters: Jarrettown is one of Upper Dublin’s older elementary buildings and the district must choose among less-costly system refreshes, major renovation or new construction; the choice affects capital planning, debt and parking/traffic solutions in the neighborhood.

Geider and Solomon briefed the committee with the options matrix previously shown in December 2024 and highlighted the survey results as an input to prioritizing space needs. Solomon said the stakeholder tours and input “had good positive results,” and that most staff responses showed a need for more flexible common spaces and improved special-education spaces.

"The cafeteria, gym, main office ... are insufficient for what they would like," Solomon said, summarizing the top items the staff named. Geider added that HVAC and aging systems also emerged as expected concerns.

District staff described the survey instrument as a combination of scaled questions and open comment boxes; the consultants reported that the comment boxes were summarized by AI and will be available in a fuller report. Andy Lekman said the district has scheduled an open house for Thursday, March 27, and that promotional outreach included targeted emails, the student information system, newsletters, social media, the township listserv and a public library notice. The Jarrettown project web page had about 1,200 page views and the district reported nearly 100 people had signed up for the scheduled walkthroughs at the time of the meeting.

Committee members pressed for clarity and next steps. Member Aleema asked whether the survey sampled only Jarrettown staff and whether the response rate was adequate; district staff confirmed the survey respondents were Jarrettown staff and said return rate was high for the building’s staff population. Member Jenna requested simpler option nomenclature (Option 1, 2, 3 rather than 1a/1b) to reduce confusion as the board and public compare alternatives.

Jenna and others also asked whether the district could run focus groups with students; consultants said student focus groups have been used before and could be arranged through the school if the board desired. Board members said they expect more detailed schematic work and user-group sessions if the board moves toward a design decision later in the process.

Several trustees emphasized accessibility requirements: a committee member noted that Option 1b in the December matrix was drawn as a systems replacement but appeared to imply ADA compliance; consultants clarified that a major renovation option would include required accessibility work (restrooms, door widths, turning radii) but that the conceptual options remain subject to further structural and code analysis.

On costs and phasing, the consultants said conceptual numbers include contingencies and that renovation options generally carry higher design contingencies to cover unknowns in an existing building, while new construction shifts some unknowns to soils and site investigation. The consultants said an intermediate option between the largest renovation and new construction was being developed to bridge a large jump in estimated cost between the two main options.

What’s next: the district will provide a detailed staff-comment summary and the consultants said they expect to return with refined options and cost implications as the committee and board move toward a June decision on which option to pursue. The open house on March 27 will show block diagrams and allow tours and comment stations for attendees.

Ending: Board members reiterated that they want the eventual design-development process to include user-group sessions during schematic design so teachers and other building users can review layouts and block diagrams before final construction decisions are made.