Octorara leaders propose grade realignment and repurposing of elementary school to avoid $10M renovation

Octorara Area School District officials on a February town-hall presentation outlined a feasibility plan that would repurpose the district’s oldest elementary building and realign grade configurations to K–2, 3–5, 6–8 and 9–12, a change intended to avoid a roughly $10 million renovation of the existing elementary school and to spread $46–$56 million in district-wide upgrades over 10 years.

Superintendent Steve Lehi said the district’s consultants estimated $10 million to $15 million to renovate the older elementary building and about $20 million for a comparable new elementary building, and that the realignment would allow the district to redeploy those funds to fix systems across all buildings. He said the recommendation is for the board to consider repurposing the elementary school rather than funding a major renovation immediately.

Why it matters: the district faces uneven learning conditions and deferred maintenance, officials said. Two buildings lack full air conditioning; initial bids for cooling rose from about $4 million to as much as $7 million for the elementary building and an estimated $8 million to $9 million for the middle school. District leaders said repurposing…