Board hires architects for Patton Middle School design after public objections over costs and outreach

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District board voted 8–0 on June 16 to award architectural design services for a proposed replacement of Patton Middle School to Breslin Architects, authorizing a contract with a fixed fee equal to 4.6% of the final construction cost estimate.

The vote moved the district into a design phase that board members and administrators described as an essential next step but not the same as a commitment to build. "This is the next step in the process," Vice Chair Dr. Simonson said as he summarized a four‑month RFP and interview process that produced a shortlist of qualified firms. "The proposal evaluation team recommends awarding the design contract to Breslin Architects." The motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: Residents and many board members agreed the district must address long‑standing building problems; opponents pushed for more outside review and clearer cost breakdowns before committing to replacement. Scores of residents used the public-comment period to question the feasibility study, the district's outreach strategy and the long-term financing plan that some commenters said would push project financing toward a $260 million total when extended payments and interest are included.

Residents at the meeting raised a series of critiques. Paul Cook, a Chadds Ford Township resident, asked the board to "surprise us" by commissioning an independent financial analysis and said district mailers had not reached many long‑term residents. "Let's engage a separate independent financial organization to do an analysis of this project," Cook said. Lindsey Tucker, another resident, criticized what she called presentation choices that favored replacement over renovation and disputed widely circulated per‑taxpayer figures that appeared in community mailings and a website she and others have assembled.

Board members defended their process and the decision to proceed with design. "We considered three options — maintain, renovate, or new construction — with a qualified third‑party architect," said a board member who described the replacement option as "clearly superior" for meeting program needs the maintain option could not. Finance lead Mr. Schartz said the district will remain within Act 1 limits and highlighted that the district's debt service profile created a window to pursue the project with a controlled tax impact.

What the vote does and does not do: The board's approval engages an architect to produce design documents and more precise cost estimates. Several directors stressed that if the design numbers come back higher than expectations, the district will reassess whether to proceed. "If the numbers come back double what we initially anticipated, I think that won't move forward," one director said.

Next steps: Breslin Architects will execute an American Institute of Architects contract with the district and begin the design and supplemental-services work. The district said it will publish design estimates and continue community outreach as the project advances toward decision points where construction authorization and financing would require further board action or voter approval depending on the final tax impact.