The Conewago Valley school board received updates on its elementary school renovation projects during a study session on Monday evening.
Anthony Colestock of Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates apprised the board of the design status of Conewago Township Elementary and New Oxford Elementary schools.
Since electing to pursue renovating the elementary schools, the board has heard periodic updates from the architectural design company.
Recently, Colestock said the company has met with administrators, faculty and students to learn more about the needs of the district.
As part of the process, administration members have viewed the designs of other schools,
Civil engineers for the project planned to meet with representatives from Conewago Township this week to learn more about zoning and land development requirements from the township, according to Colestock. Information from that meeting will be communicated to the board during its regular voting meeting next week as the results will influence the timeline of the project.
At the same time, the company’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer has worked with the district’s facilities director to discuss ideal systems and manufacturers’ products the district is interested in potentially installing.
Colestock said the company is still working on other aspects of the project, including a traffic study and seeking a food service consultant, and will ask the board to approve the consultant once one is found.
In addition to seeking design input from administration, the company has also asked faculty members and select students to identify components of other designs they like or dislike. The CTE students who participated in the exercises were asked to put green stickers on aspects they liked and red stickers on those they didn’t, and to provide their thoughts on the designs. Students, faculty and administration all provided input on everything from the layout to the furniture and flooring colors.
Select NOE students will participate in the same exercise next week.
One of the big picture updates Colestock outlined in the proposed designs is the creation of a ‘main street’ in the schools. The main street serves as an entrance for visitors, who will have to go through the administration area before entering the rest of the school, and separates academic classrooms from larger meeting spaces such as the cafeteria and gymnasium.
One difference highlighted in the designs of other schools were flex spaces where multiple classrooms could meet to work on a project such as a STEM experiment that may require more room.
Superintendent Sharon Perry said that looking ahead to the new state STEELS (Science, Technology and Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability) standards and extra focuses on STEM mean adding such a space could be beneficial for the district.
Colestock also showed the board how the exteriors of the plans are designed to better accommodate car rider lines, bus queues, athletic fields and more.
Colestock said the company hopes to put the CTE renovations out to bid by the end of 2024 and the NOE upgrades out to bid by spring of 2025.
After the presentation, the board also heard updates on the upcoming draft 2024-25 budget from district business manager Lori Duncan.
At the earlier direction of the board, Duncan’s presentation focused on the scenario of the board raising taxes to the Act One Index, but no board vote has yet taken place. The index is at 7.5% and is the highest amount the district is allowed to raise taxes without seeking exemptions from the state, and in December, the board signed a resolution agreeing to stay at or below the index.
Duncan highlighted the difficulties of planning the district’s budget when state funding amounts are still uncertain as the state budget has not yet been finalized. Duncan used the same figures for state funding from the 2023-24 budget for planning purposes, but added that those figures could change depending on the final state budget.
This is also the final year that Conewago Valley and other districts have the use of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic, so those funds are removed from the 2024-25 budget.
While the ESSER funding has expired, some of the services the district used the funding for are recurring, leaving the district with the options of covering the costs itself, seeking grant or other replacement funding, or removing the services.
“Sometimes people think grants and money is great – it is – but it depends on the strings attached to it,” Duncan said.
Charter school tuition is also a significant portion of the budget, with the district spending $2,143,167 for 179 regular education cyber/charter students (an average of $11,973 per student) and $1,448,460 for 45 special education cyber/charter students (an average of $32,188 per student.)
For the 224 Conewago Valley students enrolled in cyber/charter schools, the total cost for the district is $3,591,627, according to Duncan.
Duncan also said state funding is insufficient. The district currently receives $22.5 million in state funding compared to the $29.7 million it would expect from the state if it was fully funded.
The district also has little or no flexibility in spending for multiple categories, including PSERS contributions, employee benefits, salaries, special education, transportation costs, and more. Salaries and benefits alone make up 68.5% of the district’s budget, according to Duncan.
Currently, Conewago Valley ranks 428 out of 500 districts for funding per student in the state, according to Duncan. Conewago Valley spends $15,563 per student while the state average is $18,383 per student.
While the board has retained the option to go to the Act One Index, the board has not yet voted on a tax increase or budget. The board will vote on Monday, April 8. The budget will then be available for review by the public before the board makes a final vote in May.
And while the district can pull money from its fund balance to help balance the budget, Duncan said that doing so affects its bond rating, which can negatively affect the district’s interest rates. Duncan compared it to a credit score for individuals. The current fund balance is equal to about 1% of the district’s budget.
Should the board raise taxes to the Act One Index, it could generate about $2,665,685 in revenue, according to Duncan. Homeowners would see that as $112.80 per $100,000 home, or an increase of about $9.40 per month.
Perry said the board and administration is aware of the high cost of living and the difficulties of raising taxes, but pointed to increasing staff and renovating buildings as significant upcoming costs for the district.
“We’re also looking at not just next year, but we’re looking at 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, we’re envisioning 20 years in the future, of course not having a crystal ball,” Perry said. “But the goal of the board is to build a sustainable future for our community that isn’t burdensome, and we know it’s tough times. We’re in really tough times right now, and it will be, and we’ve been very transparent about that.”
Perry said staff and faculty are also “highly conscious” of the need to be careful with district funding.
“We are the Colonial family,” Perry said. “We are working together to try to reduce those costs. It’s important to me to reassure each of you and our community, if you talk to our teachers you will always hear them talking about reducing costs and being aware of costs. They’re keenly aware.”
Staff and faculty frequently work to find grants and other opportunities, and the district also has additional support.
“They find money on their own to make sure that they’re able to provide opportunities,” Perry said. “And of course, we’d be completely remiss to not mention our partners that help to support us: our PTOs, our community partners, our industry partners that we do, all together provide the very best education that we can for our children. I couldn’t be any more proud of that. This is unique.
The board will vote on the draft 2024-25 budget during its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 8 in the district board room. The public is welcome to attend meetings in person or watch the livestream via the district’s YouTube channel.
Imari Scarbrough is a freelance journalist. She was a staff newspaper reporter for five years before becoming a freelancer in 2017. She has written on crime, environmental issues, severe weather events, local and regional government and more.
You can visit her website at ImariJournal.com.