Board reviews three facility-and-enrollment options estimated at $29M–$33M
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Summary
The buildings and grounds committee presented three locally focused options to address enrollment pressure, with rough cost estimates ranging from just over $29 million to about $33 million and requests for further public input and scenario modeling.
The Shippensburg Area School District’s buildings and grounds committee presented three options to address projected enrollment growth, each with different building configurations and estimated costs.
Superintendent (Mr. August) summarized the options and their rough cost estimates: Option 1, described as status quo with targeted additions, was estimated at just over $29,000,000; Option 2 (a more extensive realignment) was described as roughly $30,000,000; and Option 3 (an alternate realignment scenario) was estimated at about $33,000,000. Administration cautioned these are planning estimates and that design and bid processes will produce final costs.
The options differ in which grades would be grouped at Nancy Grayson, James Byrd and SACE, and whether sixth grade remains at the middle school or is moved to an intermediate site. The district cited site capacity at SACE as a rationale for concentrated building there and said some scenarios would require about 21 additional classrooms at SACE and an elevator or other accessibility work in some configurations. Bill Nagle and other committee members said EI Associates produced the scenarios using PowerSchool enrollment projections and a planning per-square-foot number of about $475 was used for early estimates.
Why it matters: the board must select a planning "lane" to proceed to design and, ultimately, construction. Members urged public input, teacher and parent engagement and additional scenario runs (including a previously studied third-grade realignment option) before the board commits to design and bid phases.
Next steps: administrators said they expect the board to select an option within about a year and then proceed to design and construction over roughly a two-year horizon. The board asked administration to solicit public feedback and return refined cost and program models to the committee.
