There were no voting items on the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District work session meeting Monday night, but board members are prepping for votes on several matters. Those matters include facility upgrades to three of the elementary schools for all day kindergarten and for votes on what to do about Charles F. Patton Middle School.
As previously reported, the board is scheduled to vote in February on whether to maintain or renovate the school, or to build a new one. Superintendent of Schools John Sanville gave a brief update on the timeline for a decision and said that no matter what the board decides, it’s going to be costly.
“There is no cheap option,” Sanville said. Whether we maintain the building, whether we build a new building, or renovate, it’s going to cost the district millions of dollars. That’s just a reality.”
The superintendent continued, saying that “We’re in a very good position financially.”
While school taxes have gone up during his 14 years as superintendent, the increases are less than the rate of inflation, Sanville said. He added that whether the vote is to replace or renovate, tax increases will still be below the Act 1 index.
“We’re going to do it in a way that is affordable for our community. We’re certainly in a spot where we can afford it,” he said.
There’s a Dec. 9 meeting where a draft of the options will be presented, and a special meeting on Jan. 6 with an administrative recommendation to the board. School board directors will vote on Feb. 18.
Votes on other facility-related matters are scheduled for next week’s regular board meeting.
Up for consideration are indoor design proposals for Chadds Ford and Hillendale Elementary schools, and outdoor design proposal for CFES and Unionville Elementary. All those considerations revolve around facility upgrades for full day kindergarten.
Several internal rooms at CFES will be reconfigured and two current classrooms at HES will be renovated to include a third classroom. The total cost estimate for that work is $25,425.
The outdoor work proposal includes creating construction bid drawings, managing the construction bidding process, and construction administration services. The estimated cost is $33,215, funded by the Longwood grant that was awarded to the school.
The board’s next meeting is 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Comments