Parents, coaches warn proposed K–6 design will shrink gym capacity and hurt youth programs

Multiple parents, coaches and longtime residents told the Hopewell Area School District board on May 5 that the proposed K–6 consolidation and conceptual designs under review would substantially reduce gymnasium capacity and could jeopardize after-school programming and district-wide events.

"We're going from five gyms down to one," said Andrew Hanis of Hopewell Township, pressing that events such as the Kids of Steel marathon and routine physical-education rotations used spaces across former elementary gyms. "There's no space to be able to have something like that," he said, urging the board to reconsider how the design will serve current programming.

Jonathan Delarpini, a coach and parent, said limited gym time already challenges youth sports and warned that losing multiple school gyms could push families to other districts offering more facilities. Tammy Holland, a district employee and PTA volunteer, added that a planned "transition year" has community members anxious about changes to classroom experiences and longstanding traditions.

Designers from Draw Collective, who presented the conceptual site plan and building layout that evening, described a plan with two practice courts separated by a folding wall and retractable bleachers. When a board member asked if the two courts would be full-size, a Draw Collective presenter replied, "No, they are practice courts." The Draw Collective team also said a large-group assembly (LGI) is being proposed as an add-alternate rather than included in the base scope.

Board members and the design team said more detailed site and traffic studies, staff previews and stakeholder meetings are planned as the design progresses, and that the LGI is being presented as a possible future phase if funding allows. The board did not vote on the design that night; the presentation was informational and the architects said staff would be briefed in a subsequent meeting.