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Board weighs CTE plan at John Harris and demolition options for William Penn site
Summary
Administrators presented a Craft Education Consultant contract to start a CTE program at John Harris and outlined two procurement options to demolish William Penn High School (KPN job-order vs public bid). Board members asked for clearer student-capacity, program timeline and funding details; staff will return with photos and a phased plan for facilities work.
The Harrisburg School District administration told the board on March 10 that it will contract with Craft Education Consultant LLC (administration recommended, amount not to exceed $10,000) to design a phased career and technical education (CTE) program at John Harris High School, beginning with business/entrepreneurship and following later with cybersecurity and EMT options.
Dr. Henry said the Craft engagement is intended to "walk us through" program design so the district can build capacity at John Harris, where a wing on the first floor is being considered for initial CTE courses. Mr. Reed and other staff displayed a floor plan and highlighted a section that would accommodate apprenticeship spaces, business classrooms and IT/network labs.
Board members pressed for concrete details: how many students each class would serve, whether middle-school outreach would be included, and whether other district buildings could host CTE if space at John Harris proved inadequate. Administrators said the work will be phased, capacity will be determined during curriculum design, and the district will update the board with enrollment and facility plans before classes begin.
Separately, facilities staff presented two procurement options to demolish William Penn High School. The first option would use the Keystone Purchasing Network (KPN) and a job-order contract managed by an established firm (LowBar) and local subcontractors; staff said the KPN route is faster, reduces legal and contracting time and often limits change orders. The second option — a full public bid — could yield lower initial bids but typically requires a detailed architect specification, a longer public procurement and carries greater risk of change orders or contractor default on a large demolition. The board conducted a nonbinding straw poll and a majority favored advancing a KPN/job-order approach and returning a formal KPN proposal for an April agenda.
Administrators also showed a separate KPN proposal to remove a dividing wall at John Harris to create a larger, collaborative business classroom for the CTE entrepreneurship sequence (estimated cost included in materials). Several board members asked staff to return with photos of the space, a more detailed enrollment/capacity forecast, funding sources and the program design before any construction was approved.
No final construction or demolition contracts were approved on March 10; staff were directed to bring detailed proposals and the KPN job-order contract back to the board for formal action.
