Clearfield moves forwardwith renovation, closing plans

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Big changes are in the works in the Clearfield Area School District.
Greer Hayden of HHSDR Architects and Engineers updated the Clearfield Area School Board Monday on the latest developments with the district's renovation plan.
Hayden said the designs for the high school are about 35 percent finished and once they are completed, HHSDR will began a phasing plan for when construction will begin. The plan will allow for construction to be completed quickly with as little disruption of classes as possible.
Hayden estimates that the district can advertise for bids for the project in May and award the contracts in June. Construction will take place from July through December.
According to previously published Courier-Express articles, the district will build two additions on to the existing high school building. That will allow the central administration offices to be housed in the high school. The project also calls for additional classroom and physical education space to accommodate plans to close the Clearfield Middle School and have students in grades seven through 12 attend classes at the high school. The project is estimated to cost about $34 million.
Elementary school
Hayden also discussed plans for an expansion and renovation project at the Clearfield Elementary School. A new wing will be built to allow for more classroom space as well as renovations to the existing building, particularly the kitchen and cafeteria areas.
Hayden said Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed a moratorium on school projects for one year until more money becomes available for reimbursement for them. He suggested the district initiate its paperwork now to get the elementary project "in the pipeline" to avoid getting caught in the moratorium. The district plans to close Centre and Bradford elementary schools and have those students attend Clearfield Elementary School.
Students who previously attended Girard-Goshen Elementary School were relocated to Clearfield Elementary School in November of the 2010-11 school year when the roof was determined to be unsafe. The board is looking to make that closure permanent. Students in grades K-6 will be attending the Clearfield Elementary School once that project has been completed.
Hayden said the project will provide seven classrooms for each grade level (1-6) and eight classrooms for Kindergarten students. The project is estimated to cost $8.9 million.
If the board votes to go ahead with the elementary school project, Plan Cons A an B must be approved and submitted to the state Board of Education before the end of this month. This has already been done for the high school project.
State law requires that the public hearings be held when a district is looking to close a school building. Those hearings are expected to be held April 16-19 and the decision to close the schools will be determined in July.
The board will then hold another public hearing in August and submit land development plans to Lawrence Township and the Clearfield County Planning Commission for review and approval.
Hayden said if all goes well, he expects the board to advertise for bids for the elementary project in February and March 2013 with the contracts awarded by the end of March. Construction is expected to begin in May 2013 and to be completed by August 2014.
Athletic upgrades
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Reported by Kimberly Finnigan, staff writer. E-mail: kfinnigan@thecourierexpress.com.