Abington board hears $285 million middle school plan; officials and residents debate renovation alternatives ahead of May 20 referendum

At the Abington Board of School Directors meeting on April 22, 2025, consultants from ICS Consulting and Schroeder Group Architects presented a facilities plan for a new Abington Middle School sized for 2,200 students and estimated at $285,000,000, and answered board members’ questions about timelines, modular swing space and a lower-cost renovation alternative if a May 20 referendum fails.

The presentation was led by Phil Solomon, regional manager at ICS Consulting, and David Schroeder of Schroeder Group Architects. Solomon said the district’s demographic study guided capacity planning and that the team sized program spaces to support the district’s “middle school teaming model.” Schroeder described the program-to-area process that produced a net area of about 238,000 square feet and a gross building area of roughly 345,000 square feet to accommodate circulation and building systems.

Why it matters: the board will ask district voters on May 20 to approve borrowing for construction. If voters do not approve a new building, consultants said the district faces a set of alternatives — an “emergency prevention” systems-only renovation estimated at about $105,000,000, a more extensive renovation (about $206,000,000), or a run-to-failure approach that consultants warned would cost more over time.

Key numbers and scope

- Proposed capacity: 2,200 students. - Net program area cited by Schroeder: about 238,000 square feet; gross area: about 345,000 square feet (157 gross square feet per student). - Construction-only cost cited by presenters: about $513 per square foot; total project cost…