NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
7 April 2003

PLANS FOR ADDITIONAL SCHOOL RENOVATIONS, NEW SPACE ANNOUNCED

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced plans for the renovation of the remaining schools in the Harrisburg School District that have not yet been recently upgraded, including the construction of new space to accommodate the new preschool program, four community health centers, expanded academic programs and increasing student enrollments. The Facility Plan is the result of 14 months of intensive study, review and planning.

The Mayor said the key factors creating the need for the additional work include:

• The unrenovated schools are functionally obsolete for modern education. They lack sufficient laboratory, classroom and support services space and make it difficult for modern technology to be utilized in classrooms and building operations. In due time, these conditions would result in the district being ordered to make renovations to meet federal or state standards and if the work is done piecemeal, it will be more expensive than if accomplished in one comprehensive program.
• Engineering and building analysis indicates that the cost to the district to maintain obsolete unrenovated buildings over the next ten to fifteen years would be $61.8 million. Much of this expense is eliminated by making improvements now.
• Enrollment in the city schools is increasing. Two years ago, there were 7100 students. Today, there are 7,997. That number is expected to further increase to as many as 9000 in three to four years. At the high school alone, there has been a 21% increase over last school year, with another 375 students coming in next year.
• The district wants to improve instructional effectiveness by reducing class size, which cannot be done today because there are insufficient classrooms. Further, with the introduction of the new preschool program for children ages 3–5, which will grow in size over the next several years, additional classrooms are needed to accommodate what will be a total of 1,100 youngsters.
• Interest rates in the public finance market are now at their lowest levels in 30 years, which makes it cheaper to finance building improvements today rather than later.

Reed said the projects being announced today were originally proposed in a 1995 Facility Plan of the district but were never undertaken. That original plan has been entirely rewritten but the 1995 projected costs have remained the same, with the district actually getting much more facilities, space and educational program areas as a result of the more intensive planning of the past 14 months.

The work is to be undertaken in two phases, with the first phase expected to cost $99.1 million and the second phase estimated at $44.5 million. It will take five years for all the construction and renovations to be completed, in order to never have more than one elementary school closed at any time.

First phase work includes:

• Doubling the size of the Downey Elementary School with new additions and renovating existing space. The school closes this summer and will reopen by September, 2004.
• The district administration offices will be temporarily relocated to leased space to allow the Benjamin Franklin School to expand into the space now housing district offices. The administration building will be converted into 17 classrooms and will open in 2004.
• Camp Curtin School will close in June of 2004 for complete renovation and will reopen in 2005.
• Woodward Elementary School will close in June of 2006 for complete renovation and will reopen in 2007.
• The Foose, Hamilton, Marshall, Melrose, Rowland, Scott, Schimmel, Steele and William Penn Schools will have partial renovations and/or additions.
• The largest first phase project involves the complete renovation, upgrade and expansion of the John Harris Campus, where site work and utility relocations will start this summer. Major construction will start in June of 2004, with the entire project being completed in September, 2006. Plans include additional classrooms, laboratories, and athletic facilities, including a new gymnasium, along with a new heating plant, kitchen and library.

Reed said second phase work, to be completed by the end of 2007, will involve:

• The comprehensive renovation of the William Penn Campus, including new space for the vocational program-now known as the Career and Technology Academy.
• Complete renovation of the Riverside School.
• New facilities for the district administrative offices and commissary.

Reed said the benefits to students from the Facility Plan are substantial:

• Reduced class sizes. Planned class sizes are 14 students for 3 and 4 year old pre- school; 18 students for 5 year old kindergarten; 20 students for grades one through 4; and 22 students for grades five through twelve.
• Strengthening neighborhood schools. Eighth graders will attend the neighborhood school where they attended seventh grade, starting in 2004. For years, the district has had a single school for the eighth grade, requiring students to travel from all parts of the city. That school, the Rowland School, will become a neighborhood school.
• One school building will be dedicated to the new Math and Science Academy, where intensive instruction is provided in these subject areas for enrolled students in grades five through eight.
• Four additional Community Health Centers will be opened over the next five years in four neighborhood schools, including Downey, Marshall, Melrose and Camp Curtin Schools.
• Expansion of the new Early Childhood Program, through which every 3, 4 and 5 year old is offered a full day learning and nurturing environment.
• Creation of an Arts Magnet Academy at the William Penn Campus, with upgraded stage and arts facilities on-site. Creation of a Hospitality School at the same campus as part of a revamped vocational program. Creation of an Allied Health School at an off-campus site. Both schools will train students for careers in these respective fields, for which significant job opportunities exist in the area job market.
• Creation of the first-ever high school level Preparatory School as part of the Harrisburg Polytechnic University Project, the first classes of which open this coming September and which will be in their permanent quarters at 215 Market Street in 2004.
• At the John Harris Campus, renovations will create six small learning centers within the school. One will be the Ninth Grade Academy, to help transition students in their first year in high school.

Reed said: “These much needed renovations and additions flow from the concerted reform and improvement efforts well underway to upgrade the Harrisburg School District’s academic programs and opportunities. If we are to successfully offer a 21st Century education, we have to have 21st Century facilities and technology to do it. To do nothing will ultimately cost much more, while denying city students the advantage of getting a relevant, up-to-date education that prepares them for a lifetime of success.”

The Mayor said the district is designating the African-American Chamber of Commerce to conduct the district’s minority contracting program to assure as high a degree of minority contractor participation in construction work as possible.

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