An architectural design firm hired by the Panther Valley School District recommended replacing the current elementary school to meet the district’s needs for the future.

Mike Kelly and Shannon Abrahams of KCBA Architects of Center Valley on Wednesday presented its study and recommendations, which showed the current elementary was in poor condition and in need of replacement, to the school board.

The firm offered the board two options, one of which was to building a new high school and convert the existing high school into a kindergarten to fifth grade elementary.

KCBA estimated the cost of a new high school at $94.6 million and renovations needed to convert the existing high school to an elementary would cost $22.3 million. The combined cost is $116.8 million.

The school conversion, however, does provide room for growth with increasing enrollment and elementary class sizes remain an average of 25 or higher.

The junior and senior class sizes are now over 100, and every other grade in the district is over 150, business manager Jesse Walck said ahead of the presentation.

“And they continue to grow,” he said. “Our growth has been massive.”

The other option is building a new elementary school for kindergarten to fifth grade, using the intermediate school as a middle school for sixth to eighth grade, and retaining the high school for ninth to 12th grade.

The current configuration has kindergarten to third grade in the elementary school in Nesquehoning, and fourth to sixth grade in the intermediate school at the school complex in Summit Hill, and seventh to 12th grades in the high school building, which has been being used as a junior/senior high school.

KCBA estimates the cost of a new elementary school at $67.5 million. This option allows room for growth and provides additional space, as 10 classrooms become available in the high school’s seventh and eighth grade wing.

The seventh-eighth grade wing could be repurposed for prekindergarten, which would allow the district to bring that in-house instead of renting space in Coaldale; space for weight room and wrestling room, expansion of STEAM curriculum, or to provide more space for special education, the study said.

KCBA provided several examples of how the space could be divided to allow for these purposes in its recommendations.

The firm also evaluated locations for a new elementary school at the high school/intermediate school complex off Route 209.

The site being proposed is a wooded tract on the back side of the intermediate school parking lot, and a second entrance into the school complex would be developed off the highway near the radio station.

Of the two new school options, KCBA recommended the district consider planning for a new elementary school, relocating sixth to eighth grades in the intermediate school, which was designed for these grades; and upgrades at high school serving ninth to 12 grades.

No school

KCBA also evaluated the current elementary school and provided cost estimates for putting in new heat, air conditioning and ventilation and improved electrical and Wi-Fi, and also a full renovation.

The current elementary school does not have air conditioning and the heating system needs to be replaced, Walck said. All new schools are built with air conditioning, he said, as it impacts the air quality for the students to learn.

Air conditioning and heating upgrades at the elementary school would cost $8.11 million, the KCBA estimated. A full renovation, which would include HVAC upgrades, new doors, windows, roof, and additional restrooms would cost $20.3 million. A full renovation and expansion would come in at $42.5 million, the firm said.

These proposed upgrades and renovations to the existing elementary school do not address that the school sits in a floodplain, and in two of the options the school remains undersized, KCBA noted.

Both the elementary school and high school are full now, Walck said, and every year the enrollment is growing.

The elementary school received a 65% rating in the firm’s evaluation of the schools. A score above 60% shows a building in poor condition and past its useful or serviceable life, the study said.

Walck noted that the higher the score, the more in need the school is.

The high school ranked above 50%, coming in at 54%, and considered in fair condition, and intermediate school, received a 24% rating, which is considered in suitable condition, the study said.

Walck said the intermediate school’s ranking would be considered “a modern, well-kept school,” and the high school does need work, but upgrades have been identified and some are already in the works.

“It’s just a matter of getting them done, as we are able to do them,” he said.