Consultants say Loyalstock Valley needs major repairs; consolidation into Lighter Elementary recommended

Site Logic consultants told the Montoursville Area School District board on June 11 that one of the district’s elementary schools, Loyalstock Valley, faces urgent infrastructure needs and that consolidating elementary students into Lighter Elementary would address major replacement requirements.

Wayne Brookhart, a senior business consultant with Site Logic, said the district has kept its buildings well maintained but that many systems are now beyond their expected life spans. "You're seeing a lot of red, orange and yellow — major building systems require immediate or near‑term attention or replacement," Brookhart said during the presentation. He and colleague Melissa (director of deliverables) reviewed photographic evidence, floor plans and two years of utility billing data to reach their conclusions.

Site Logic identified problems including aging boilers and heating distribution equipment, plumbing fixtures that use excessive water, vinyl asbestos tile in spots that would require abatement, and HVAC units reliant on R‑22 refrigerant (which the EPA has phased out and that is increasingly costly to service). The consultants reported that Loyalstock Valley relies heavily on fuel‑based heating (fuel oil), which raises operating costs compared with Lighter Elementary and benchmark schools.

The consultants presented rough‑order‑of‑magnitude cost estimates for maintenance and replacement: they said immediate (0–2 year) needs at Loyalstock Valley total just over $3 million and just under $1 million at Lighter Elementary. Multi‑year figures presented in the session rose substantially; presenters described those larger totals as broad estimates that do not include programmatic changes or adding air conditioning.

"The magnitude of repairs and renovation at Loyalstock that are recommended for replacement within 10 years is $19.5 million," Brookhart told the board and said that a consolidation project at Lighter Elementary would address the majority of urgent replacement needs identified at Loyalstock Valley. He cautioned that the figures are 2024 estimates and do not include escalation for future years.

Board members asked whether Loyalstock Valley can be kept safely open during a 1–2 year planning window. Brookhart said he did not observe conditions he would classify as immediately unsafe and that the district would be notified if a danger category existed, but he acknowledged the uncertainty of equipment failures (for example, boilers can fail unexpectedly). Site Logic offered to return with more detailed operational cost estimates, including the incremental cost to maintain Loyalstock in the near term and projected energy and programmatic savings from consolidation.

The presentation concluded with Site Logic recommending the board consider a formal determination on elementary school consolidation, engage an architect for preliminary designs if consolidation is pursued, and commission preliminary construction estimating to inform next steps.

The board did not take a formal action on consolidation during the meeting; members and many members of the public asked for additional cost details and community engagement before any decision. The district will receive follow‑up cost breakdowns and ancillary calculations in July, the presenters said.