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Architects present districtwide facility assessment; report flags excess capacity and educational-space gaps
Summary
RLPS Architects presented a facility assessment for East Stroudsburg Area School District, reporting roughly 1,500–1,600 unused student spaces districtwide, separate condition and educational-use scores, and options to address inequities; consultants will return Dec. 15 with five options.
Chris Linke of RLPS Architects presented a districtwide facility assessment and feasibility study update, telling the board, "We are here to give you a brief update on where we are with your facility assessment." The consultants described a three‑phase process—discovery, analysis and options—and previewed metrics the team will use to compare building condition and educational value.
The study reported the district owns about 640 acres of property and more than 1,400,000 square feet of building area, with just over 6,200 students enrolled. RLPS said those figures and the PlanCon design capacities produce an estimated 1,500–1,600 student spaces that are underused when current district use is compared with original building design. The consultancy emphasized it will verify historic PlanCon numbers flagged by board members.
"We score everything on a 0 to 4 point scale," said Andy Bladen, describing how condition and educational‑use scores are calculated separately so a building can be in good physical condition but still lack modern learning spaces. The consultants noted common themes: varying building ages (from the 1920s to the early 2000s), inconsistent educational space upgrades, and differences in capacity versus current instructional use (for example, rooms repurposed for specialized services that reduce nominal class size).
RLPS also summarized community and stakeholder survey results and said the district and consultant teams had collected responses from staff, board members and community members as part of their discovery work. The consultants said priorities that emerged included strengthening STEAM/CTE offerings, equitable facility conditions at the elementary level, and exploring centralized versus distributed models for targeted STEAM programs.
Next steps: RLPS said it will return on Dec. 15 to present five concrete options and a scoring matrix based on priorities developed with the district. Board members repeatedly asked that RLPS re‑check specific capacity figures pulled from PlanCon documents before options are finalized; the consultants agreed to verify those numbers.
The presentation included Q&A on how PlanCon capacities differ from current district use and on how proposed options could affect operating costs and program delivery. The consultants said educational‑use scoring will inform which physical upgrades also need pedagogical changes.
What happens next: RLPS will present prioritized options at the December meeting and provide documentation of the metrics and surveys used to reach its conclusions. The board will review options and direct staff on which scenarios to analyze further.
