Antietam School District officials say they are continuing to work on plans to renovate Mount Penn Elementary School so it can accommodate students in grades 9 through 12 by the start of next school year. (Bill Woolrich – Reading Eagle)
Plans to use Mount Penn Elementary School as the Antietam School District's high school by the start of the 2024-25 school year are facing a setback after a floor in the building collapsed this month.
Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor Ken Bonkoski said construction work around the collapse site, which includes several classrooms and offices, has been suspended while the school district's insurance company assesses the damage.
Courtesy of Rick Lombard and the Mount Penn Fire Department
Firefighters rushed to the scene after a floor collapsed at Mount Penn Elementary School on June 13. The Antietam High School building was heavily damaged in last year's flooding, and the school is undergoing renovations to serve as a temporary high school. (Courtesy of Rick Lombard and the Mount Penn Fire Department)
The extensive renovations at the elementary school at North 25th Avenue and Filbert Street are part of a plan to get students back in school after July floods devastated the area's middle and high schools.
The collapse occurred on June 13 while contractors were working on renovating a building that will house students in grades 9 through 12. No one was injured.
“We haven't yet received the formal report from the insurance company,” commission Chairman Mike Roberts told an audience at Monday's meeting, “so we don't know for sure what happened, so I can't say for sure.”
Roberts said he plans to release more details once the insurer releases its report.
Bonkoski noted the district has had issues with contractors doing on-site work at the main center.
He said there are days when contractors don't have enough manpower to do the work.
“This is a big problem,” Bonkoski said. “It could really have a negative impact on our schedule.”
Officials said the district will have to take legal action if contractors aren't hiring enough workers.
“This has been a good thing in the past,” Bonkoski said. “We need to start holding them accountable.”
Bonkoski said officials will probably know by mid-July whether repairs can be completed on time or if other plans should be considered.
Considering alternatives
One alternative, officials said, would be to use two buildings on Endrich Street as campus-style classrooms.
At Monday's meeting, the board approved appraisals for the properties in question, 237 and 251 Endrich Street.
Officials said the evaluation is preliminary and the district has not committed to purchasing the land or using it for classrooms. They also said the land could be an option for additional parking.
The district's plans for the primary center are also being contested in Berks County Court, which is reviewing the Mount Penn District Planning Board's decision to grant a special exception to the district's proposed uses for the primary center and Mount Penn Elementary School Center.
The residents who appealed the decision argued that the district failed to consider nearby residents' traffic concerns and failed to conduct required traffic studies.
The appeal is pending in court, and Mount Penn Borough officials say they have no intention of disrupting the work unless a judge orders it halted.
District officials said an inspection of the building after the collapse found construction work could continue.
“Following the initial incident, building code officials arrived within the hour, inspected the remainder of the building and determined construction could continue in accordance with the building permit,” borough officials said in a press release.
Also at the meeting, officials noted that leaders of the Oley Valley and Reading school districts no longer wanted to discuss a possible merger with Antietam.
Tax increase
In other business, district officials approved a final budget of $28.6 million, which includes a tax increase of $2.45 million.
The tax increase would raise the district's tax rate from 46.31 mills to 48.76 mills, resulting in an annual tax levy of $4,876 on a property valued at $100,000.
Officials said at previous meetings that the district would likely have to rely on tax increases to pay for the construction plans, which are expected to cost between $13.9 million and $14.2 million.
The cost includes several projects, including renovations to the elementary school center, plans to selectively demolish the middle school and incorporate the remaining buildings into a new elementary school building, and leasing a modular building to serve as a temporary elementary school center.
Antietam School District officials say the modular school building to be built on the site at 100 Antietam Road will be similar to this example of BOXX Modular. (Keith Domochovsky – Reading Eagle)
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