Pennsbury School District Unveils Plans For New High School

A rendering of the new high school. Credit: KCBA

The Pennsbury School District has revealed its plans for a new high school in Falls Township.

The design team has created a modern three-story facility designed to accommodate as many as 3,000 students.

Superintendent Dr. Thomas Smith and architects from KCBA Architects presented the project update during a recent community meeting.

“We’re still really just looking at the skeleton and the general layout of the building, but we have some good stuff to show you,” Smith said during the presentation, which was posted to YouTube.

The new school, which is slated to open in September 2029, will feature a 1,000-seat auditorium, a three-story academic wing, and state-of-the-art athletic facilities including a natatorium and wrestling room, according to the plan.

The planning process is currently in the schematic design phase.

A current rendering of the site. Credit: KCBA

The school is being proposed for the area that currently houses a gravel parking lot on Hood Boulevard.

Mike Strohecker, from KCBA Architects, detailed the building’s layout, which is divided into three main zones: administration and performing arts on the west, a three-story academic core in the center, and athletics and cafeteria to the east.

The design incorporates several features, including a “learning stair” in the common area.

“It’s meant to be a multifunctional space, a place that could be used. You could have two or three classes of students sitting there and having a lecture or a presentation,” Strohecker explained.

The media center, formerly known as the library, will house approximately 10,000 volumes and include outdoor terrace access.

When going over the plan, Strohecker pointed to the importance of natural light and cited recent research on its positive impact on student performance.

In response to changing student habits, the new school will have significantly fewer lockers than traditional designs.

“Students just don’t use lockers anymore, so there are only certain areas of the building that have lockers,” Strohecker noted.

The athletic area will include a 3,000-seat gymnasium, a full-size auxiliary gym, a fitness lab, and an eight-lane pool.

The design team worked closely with the physical education and athletics department to incorporate their requests.

Miranda Esposito, another member of the design team, presented exterior renderings of the building.

During her presentation, Esposito pointed out the main entrance, auditorium, and a “Falcon Terrace” outside the cafeteria for outdoor dining.

The project team has engaged extensively with staff and faculty throughout the design process.

“We’ve been meeting weekly with our architect and our construction management to really start to hone in on the progress,” Smith told the public.

Teachers have provided input on classroom design and overall building layout.

The district has also conducted tours of recently constructed high schools with similar student populations to gather ideas and best practices, Smith said.

As the project progresses, parking during construction remains a concern.

“We will have a very limited amount of parking on the school campus. So what we will be doing is, and we’ve already started to reach out to surrounding areas of are there ways that we can help facilitate students being able to park, if not on campus, nearby in some other areas,” Smith said.

The district plans to continue holding community meetings as the design develops further.

With the project still in its early stages, Smith emphasized that plans are subject to change.

Construction is scheduled to start next winter, officials said.

At last week’s school board meeting, some residents have expressed concerns about the project.

Jennifer Metzger, a Falls Township resident and business owner, raised concerns about the building’s proximity to nearby homes and the placement of its mechanical facilities.

“I’m worried about the mechanical side being right where the school sign is now,” Metzger said. “You’re planning to put all the truck deliveries, kitchen, trash compactor, and dumpster where the digital sign currently sits, which is across from me.”

Metzger stated that she is also concerned about the building being 50 feet high and only 100 or so feet from her home.

The video of the design overview meeting only included the presentation and did not include the discussion period that happened after. Smith advised in advance that the portion of the meeting would not be recorded.

Smith said after the meeting that detailed floor plans of the building were removed from the video due to safety concerns.

“We’ve removed the floor plan of the new high school from the video to ensure the safety of our future students and staff,” Smith explained.

“I feel like I was silenced,” Metzger said of her comments being cut from the video.

Tim Daly, a Lower Makefield Township resident who previously settled a lawsuit against the district related to edited video recordings, has alleged violations of the Sunshine Act and Right-to-Know Law over the presentation video.

Robert Abrams, a Lower Makefield Township resident who was also involved in the lawsuit against the district, said the district wouldn’t provide him the unedited video.

Jim Boyce, a Falls Township resident, commended the board for their decision to move forward with building a new high school.

The Pennsbury School District administration building in Fallsington. File photo.

“You’ve decided to build a new high school where previous boards of education failed to act for years,” Boyce said.

The estimated cost for the new high school ranges between $240 million and $275 million.

The district is scheduling a special board meeting on November 7 to go over cost estimates from the construction manager and architect.

As the project moves forward, the district plans to continue holding public meetings and providing updates on the high school construction plans, Smith said.

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