Harrisburg officials outline capital plan, present competing options for William Penn campus

Harrisburg School District staff presented the district's 2025–26 capital improvement priorities and a range of options for the vacant William Penn campus at the board's May 27 general business meeting, saying staff will return in June with detailed cost estimates for specific projects.

The capital plan presentation, led by operations staff member Mister Reeder, listed four priorities for 2025–26: safety and security work, HVAC and roofing repairs, food-service equipment upgrades and continued work on electronic locks. Reeder said the plan would draw on vendor assessments (Tremco for roofs; Trane and Heim for HVAC) and on facility-condition studies and community input.

Reeder told the board the 2025–26 roof restoration line is budgeted at about $2,085,000 and noted that John Harris High School roofing work is mobilizing now at roughly $2.5 million. He recommended continuing a multi-year roof program and said staff would present formal estimates for 2025–26 work in June. Reeder also described a $150,000-per-year commitment for kitchen and food-service upgrades (double-door freezers, milk coolers, pass-through warmers and an ice machine) and said the district purchased 11 ovens earlier this year.

On security, Reeder described phase 2 of an electronic-lock project (following a deployment at John Harris) to start at Camp Curtin Middle School. He listed benefits—centralized lockdown, keyless entry by fob, access control and monitoring—and estimated a Phase 2 budget of about $264,000, including IT work and hardware. He said the locks include battery backup and mechanical keyways for emergency access and that the district is pursuing additional grant funding (including COPS) to expand the program.

Reeder said the district needs additional soccer fields to support new girls…