EASD settles on site for new high school, but price point remains a top concern

EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School Board has chosen a preliminary site for its new high school, but will continue discussions of the location and the price point for the building.

The board on Tuesday passed a motion to authorize architects Alloy 5 to continue developing a site design for the school, which is intended to be set in the northeast corner of the current property, where a baseball field stands.

But the seemingly simple measure stirred up concerns over costs, and the possibility that the building site would again have to be moved in the future.

Based on plans Alloy 5 submitted previously, a new building on the corner baseball lot near 25^th Street and Route 22 would encompass 450,000 to 480,000 square feet.

It would accommodate about 3,020 students and cost $290 million to $320 million.

Board member William Whitman was the first to discuss that sizable price point, and the potential for problems related to relocating other elements of the property.

“For being a high school project, it’s just too darn expensive... $300 [million], $350 million," Whitman said.

"You just can't see it happening when you've moved the high school down to the corner where the baseball field is, and you’ve got to move the baseball field somewhere else, and then you’ve got to move that somewhere, and on and on and on.

“You know, I can get behind something. We got to be creative here… something where we keep the high school location right where it is, and figure out some way to get that thing built and take care of all the students that have to be there.”

'Not committing to anything'

Whitman also suggested moving ninth grade from the high school to Easton Area Middle School to potentially reduce demand for space in the new building.

Board member Michael Simonetta quickly responded to the price tag issue, stating, “the numbers are there for budgeting purposes during the design phase and the development,” and aren’t necessarily final figures.

“You know, I certainly don’t want to end up at $300 million either, and I don’t think we will end up that way,” Simonetta said.

He later said those numbers tend to reflect inflation-based costs for construction in the next year or two.

Simonetta, formerly the district's chief operating officer and top financial administrator, also advised the board that “we’re not committing to anything other than the design” until the construction bid is awarded in February or March 2027.

“It's been more than two years, but the design, or the schematic, started a couple years ago, and we're still talking about it," Simonetta said.

"And we're not going to have anything answered unless we move forward with this phase.

"And then we still have about a year and a half of this design where we can pull back, not do it, and figure out something else. But that's my two cents."

'Not committing to anything'

Easton Schools Superintendent Tracy Piazza took a moment to remind the board that the evening’s vote was simply a matter of location — and even that could be changed, as per Simonetta’s commentary.

But it was a necessary part of the process to move forward.

“So I will remind the board that, certainly the numbers are to be considered and cannot be taken lightly, and there's a lot of work to do around that.

"But tonight's vote is simply about the location so that we have your approval to move forward.

“So tonight, the proposed location is down in that corner where the baseball field is, and so the board is asked to either approve or not approve that site and weigh in on where you think the site should be, should you not approve that.”

Passing the measure keeps Alloy 5 on its projected timeline, with the next steps of beginning schematic designs and pursuing funding and grant opportunities set for February.

If all goes well, land development could be underway by April, with construction scheduled to begin in May 2027.