The Gettysburg Area School District may add one more renovation project to its growing list.
At its meeting on Monday, the board heard a proposal to renovate the district administration building on Biglerville Road. In recent years, the district has completed projects on Lincoln Elementary School, Gettysburg Area High School, Franklin Township Elementary School, and James Gettysburg Elementary School. Earlier this month, the board approved a $2.1 million team room for Warrior Stadium.
The most recent proposal centers around the need to upgrade the administration building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. Director of Facilities and Safety Coordinator Josh Reynolds told the board that administrators would also like to move the IT room from the building’s basement to a floor that is less prone to flooding.
The district originally budgeted $4.8 million for the work, Reynolds said, but that figure proved to be too low.
One option is to move the IT room to the attic at a cost of $6.8 million. Staff are not in favor of that scenario and would like to get more bang for their buck.
Reynolds said the district could expand the footprint of the first floor, creating a new board room and transforming the existing board room into an IT room. That project is estimated to cost $6.5 million. If the district goes that route, it could consider adding a second floor to the board room for an additional $1 million.
“Obviously, it would be cheaper when you are doing everything else than come back at the five, 10, 15, 20 year mark,” Reynolds said.
Business Manager Belinda Wallen said the administration building is often crowded, especially when it is being used for local elections or there are special projects.
After Reynolds’ presentation, Board Member Michelle Smyers had one question.
“Where’s all this money coming from?” she asked.
Wallen said the district could use capital reserves and bond funds.
“The goal is not to increase the budget for this project,” Wallen said.
Board President Kenny Hassinger expressed reluctance to move forward with the project since five board seats are open on the Nov. 4 General Election Ballot. Wallen said the current board would only be voting to advertise for project bids at its Nov. 3 meeting. The new board will then have the opportunity to review and vote on those proposals, with one option being to reject the project entirely.
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.