SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The new Parkland School District Operations Center plan may get bigger before construction is finished.
Parkland School Board on Tuesday held a hearing regarding a potential addition to the new operations center which currently is under construction across from Orefield Middle School.
Parkland Superintendent Mark Madson said the district designed the operations center with a future expansion in mind but then decided to begin the process sooner than expected.
“The more we looked at it, the more it made sense to do it now,” Madson said. “And it’ll save us money in the long run.”
District operations now primarily are based in the Troxell building, which was a middle school from 1921 to 1999.
Madson said the district needs to move its day-to-day operations out of the Troxell building because it is in “poor condition” and needs significant upgrades and renovations.
"Curriculum be able to work side by side with special education, and so on. So functionally, it makes a lot of sense."Parkland Superintendent Mark Madson
He said it also will be useful to have more departments under the same roof. Some of the departments that now operate out of the administration building and Orefield Middle School will be able to move into the operations center.
"Right now, we have three different spaces" for operations, Madson said. "This will consolidate us into two.
"Curriculum be able to work side by side with special education, and so on. So functionally, it makes a lot of sense."
Some after-school programs still will be at the Troxell building, but the school board soon will re-evaluate what to do with the building, Madson said.
Project details and costs
The original operations center plan already received final approval from South Whitehall Township.
It is a two-story, 39,295-square-foot facility that would house the food service, curriculum, facilities and operations, technology and teaching and learning departments.
The lower level is for storage space, and the upper level is for offices.
Construction costs were estimated to be $19.9 million.
The addition would house the district’s alternative education programs, which include Alternative Education Disruptive Youth, Parkland Behavior Strategies Program and the Parkland Virtual Academy, as well as the district’s social workers.
The addition would add 12,541 square feet to the second floor. It would cost the district $4,650,000, according to a presentation made during the hearing.
The project cost is equivalent to 0.042 of a mill of district school tax, according to the presentation. Madson said the district will not necessarily raise taxes by that amount, but the district is required by law to present that figure.
The original operations center plan is expected to be completed in October. Bids for the expansion are expected to go out in February or March.
No one gave public comment during the hearing. Those who wish to submit comments can mail them to Board Secretary Leslie Frisbie at 1210 Springhouse Rd, Allentown, PA 18104 until Feb. 15.
