The day the earth moved in Midd-West School District

By Tricia Pursell
The Daily Item

May 13, 2009 07:35 am

— MIDDLEBURG — After 10 years of talking and planning — and many more years of dreaming — Midd-West School District officials broke ground Tuesday afternoon for a more than $32 million high school addition and renovation project.
“This day has been a long time coming, a long time in the making,” said high school Principal Ron Renshaw. “Some who have been here for some years have wondered if it would ever happen. Some of us remained skeptical until the earth moved.”
Donning construction hats, school board members and district officials gathered around an area of ground on the athletic field behind the school and dug their golden shovels into the soil.
Thus began a two-year project that will end in a 180-degree flip of the building’s front. The school, now at 110,000 square feet, will grow to 190,000 square feet when all is completed.
Construction will begin next month.
At the end of two years, the main entrance of the building, now facing Route 522, will be on the opposite side, facing the playgrounds and elementary and middle schools, said R. Jeffrey Straub, project architect, with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates Architects, of Mechanicsburg, which has been working with the school board on the project for two years.
New student parking will be created in the existing front, which will become a student entrance. A new plaza will be built at the new front. A new auditorium will seat close to 900 students and will have improved acoustics, Straub said.
The project also will create a two-story section of classrooms and a second-floor library. The existing gymnasium will become the cafeteria. And a new tech-ed yard will be created.
In addition, the new building will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and will include improved insulation, natural daylight classrooms and improved acoustics. According to Straub, the project will save 35.2 percent in energy costs and 44 percent in water costs.
The two-story construction and work on the new auditorium will occur next year, while students use the rest of the school for classes and events. The following year, the new two-story classrooms, library and auditorium will be used as the high school.
In two years and three summers, the entire school will be open for operation, Straub said.
But in the meantime, students will have to get used to the sights and messes of ongoing construction.
“Over the next two weeks, you’re going to see substantial changes,” Straub said. “You’re going to see a lot of fencing and additions go up.”
Much of the demolition will occur over the summer, he said, but students during the next school year most likely will see concrete floors instead of tile in some places and ceiling tiles will be removed.
“The building is at the end of its useful life,” said district Superintendent Wesley Knapp. Much of the building, he said, has been the same since 1920. “The infrastructure has come to the end of its useful life,” he added. “It’s a real positive step for the community.”
Financing for the project will be done over 20 years, according to Business Manager Lynn Naugle. Phasing for taxes — an increase of about 12 mills — will be paid through reserves, along with some tax increases, she said. However, a phasing of costs for three to four years will lessen the impact for taxpayers, district officials believe.
“It needs to be done,” Knapp said. “I’m excited this board has been willing to step up to the plate and do what needs to be done for the future of the community.”
The school board on April 6 awarded close to $33 million in construction contracts for the high school building project, including general construction, heating, ventilation and air condition, plumbing, electrical, fire protection and food service. Recommended testing and inspection contracts approved by the board totaled close to $380,000, and asbestos abatement work was approved at a cost of about $350,000.
Construction manager for the project is the Quandel Group Inc., of Harrisburg; John Koury, project director; Matthew A. Kodak, project manager; and Jon Robinson, project superintendent. General contractor is IMC Construction Inc., of Malvern.

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