Credit: Pennsbury School District
Residents gathered at Fallsington Elementary School on Tuesday evening to get an even closer glimpse at the expected renovations for Pennwood Middle School.
The district, which has planned its first renovations to the building since it was built more than 60 years ago, is expected to spend $44 million renovating the Lower Makefield school. Part of that extensive budget will include the allotment of a $2 million grant from the U.S. Green Building Council, certifying that the building will employ water and energy efficiency, use of recycled products and regional materials, and that the contractors completing the project will divert as much construction waste as possible from landfills.
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Renovations of the building will include an addition with six new dedicated classrooms, a complete auditorium redo, enhanced science classrooms with the latest technology, modernized classrooms with air conditioning, ADA standards fulfilled throughout the school, the removal of the pool, gym and athletic room enhancements, updated lockers and bathrooms, and even a cleaning of the William Penn statue.
According to officials, the project will consist of 7 phases, where most of the work is done after school hours and during weekends, holiday and summer vacations to help maximize use of the current facility.
The first phase begins the summer with temporary safety fencing, the relocation of utilities, the removal of all hallway corridor floors and ceilings and even a demolition of the unused school pool. Final building and landscape renovations are expected to be completed by the spring/summer of 2018.
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While no classroom renovations will take place this fall, students will find the parent drop off and walker routes to school slightly changed. Walkers are instructed to use dedicated fenced and barricaded walkways to and from the school.
Pennsbury officials said that local police and fire officials are aware of the new pathways around the school and of the construction and will kept in the loop on all construction related news.
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Parents and students have been asked to be mindful of the school alterations and arrive early to school, especially during the first couple weeks and during inclement weather.
