If You Ask Me / By Marth Knight

In the early 1990s we had a new superintendent whose previous gig had been heading up a vocational-technical school, and had seen a major renovation through to its conclusion. The Carlsons we had on the school board at that time were Jim and Cathy. Meetings were held in the high school library, and were videotaped, for airing on Channel 9

Peter Uhlig had just nicely got settled in (at the school—his family never did move here from Annville) when he announced the creation of a Superintendent’s Advisory Council. Because it was just a council, and was his creation, and was advisory in nature, its meetings were not open to the public.

Uhlig told the board that he hoped to see some corrections accomplished in the secondary building. It had damaged and friable asbestos in floors and other homogenous areas, it had major heat loss and energy inefficiency, the front entry needed to be reconfigured, and the building should be made ADA-compliant.

At about that time—I think it was at the October meeting—Uhlig announced that the “biggest school architects in Pennsylvania” had “been passing through the area” and had “stopped in” at the high school and offered to do a free “walk through” and provide the district with a report based on it.

Having dealt with many “school architects” in the course of my AHERA (asbestos hazard control) work, I was amazed. Architects drive around, cold canvassing? “We were in the neighborhood…”? Maybe sell World Books too?

I had heard of Hayes Large, even though I hadn’t worked with them. The biggest school architects? I doubted it. At that point I did not know that they had been the architects for that vo-tech school renovation in Annville area.

The report they provided after the free walk-through look-see turned out to be a PlanCon Part A feasibility study. Clearly they envisioned a renovation program of some sort involving the junior-senior high school building.

A PlanCon project is one in which the state reimburses the local school system for a portion of the cost of the project, using a formula that includes the school district’s poverty index. The state is interested in helping the district with those improvements or expansions of the physical plant that will enhance instruction. PlanCon isn’t for sports facilities as such, although phys-ed is okay. It isn’t for entertainments as such, although music instruction facilities should be provided and even improved from time to time.

Right about then we of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council began to understand in no uncertain terms that our job was to help sell the board and the public on a major renovation project.

A PlanCon sweet spot is new classrooms. But it had been years since our schools had been crowded. So why would we need more classrooms?

Middle schools were a big thing. “PDE would like middle schools added, wherever there is any alteration of facilities going on,” we were assured.

A middle school could be created by adding rooms to either building, the architects thought, but the better approach would be building space for 7 and 8 at the elementary school.

Other findings included projected enrollments of 780 in grades K through 6 by 2001, and 638 in grades 7 through 12. These numbers included the 15 percent PDE allows small, rural school districts to add.

Rereading this report recently, I was struck by some of its findings. The elementary school was constructed in 1979 with a capacity of 700 pupils. The site has areas that could be classified as wetlands. On-site parking for night activities was limited.

“When originally designed and bid the facility provided for complete air conditioning with another 75-ton chiller and chilled water loop. However, the project came in considerably over estimate requiring a second Act 34 hearing and at that time it was determined to delete classroom air conditioning.”

Hayes Large recommended improved temperature controls and air conditioning, and additional electrical panels. The telephone and public address systems should be replaced with an integrated communication system.

“Some deterioration was noted in the hollow metal toilet partitions.”

Hayes Large failed to notice that the egg-crate ventilation units meant to be present in all classrooms ceilings, allowing excess heat to escape into plenums and through the roof, had not been installed by construction contractors.

The junior-senior high school had been built in 1954, with 93,500 square feet of space and a rated capacity of 638. Six classrooms were added in 1955 (extending the V footprint), and the A wing was added in 1962, raising the capacity to 928 students.

“It is in phenomenal condition for a facility 42 years old,” Hayes Large said. Of the exterior, they remarked, “The structure has the unique architectural design character typical of the work of Architect Raymond Viner Hall.”

“Some deterioration of the vinyl-asbestos tile has been noted.” Actually, at that time I could pick up loose hunks of it in doorways, where it was being reduced to powder by foot traffic, and janitors were sanding VAT down in circles, obviously “disturbing asbestos” in the process. ADA compliance was lacking in many areas, from entries to restrooms to lockers and classrooms.

More administration space was needed, Hayes Large opined. How to get it? Buy the building across Oak Street, which had been built in the early 1900s and used as a grocery store, then converted to an early childhood center in 1991. Another idea was to use it as a district maintenance center

Nothing was mentioned about air conditioning, but heating should be rezoned and the steam boilers should be replaced with hot water ones. Electrical upgrades were needed, and of course, provision for computer labs.

Hayes Large didn’t get to proceed, but most of those building needs have been revisited since then. The estimate of $6.6 million? That was revised considerably!

Peace.