Input process continues for new Peters Township High School
The process of receiving input toward the design of a new Peters Township High School at the site of the former Rolling Hills Country Club continues.
The school board met as a whole Aug. 14 for a buildings and grounds committee workshop, during which members had the opportunity to provide ideas and suggestions via a “gallery walk” as they examined the details of the latest schematic design for the school.
The district hosted similar sessions held last week, one for representatives of PTA and booster groups, and the other involving township police, firefighters and emergency service providers. Further input meetings are scheduled with high school food service personnel on Aug. 18, teachers on Aug. 22 and student representatives on Aug. 31.
Hayes Design Group Architects of Robinson Township, Allegheny County, which is contracted to provide architectural and engineering services for the project, plans to integrate the gathered information before providing a revised schematic design to the school board at its Sept. 11 meeting.
Superintendent Jeannine French stressed the importance of the teachers’ session, which will allow “every single staff member” to have his or her say regarding each department’s needs for the new building.
“Quite frankly, they’re not allowed to leave until we get a consensus,” she said. “They will sign off that it meetings their academic program needs. We’ll collect all the information, and hopefully when we get to Sept. 11, it will be our best in addressing everybody’s opinions and wants.”
Those views are bound to diverge, according to Kevin Hayes, principal and founder of the architectural firm.
“You cannot involve this many people and expect everyone is going to be happy with the result,” he said. “There are going to be people who will comment that they don’t like what’s happening in this department or that department. That’s why we want all the teachers together, because they’re going to have to forge that consensus.”
Further input from teachers and other stakeholders will be sought during the project’s design development phase, which addresses higher levels of detail.
District officials are targeting the school’s opening for the start of the 2020-21 academic year. The budget for the project is $90 million.
In a brief voting meeting prior to the buildings and grounds session, the school board voted to authorize Hayes Design Group Architects to proceed with the first step of preliminary master site planning for the high school project, at a cost of $8,400.
The initial step addresses the configuration of the 198-acre Rolling Hills property, which is divided evenly between Peters Township School District and the municipality. Hayes presented two potential site plans for the board’s consideration, with an emphasis on where a new stadium potentially could be located in the future.
Board members reached the consensus that land near the school building would be preferable over the alternate option of an area at the northernmost part of the property.
Another buildings and grounds committee meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 17. The school board’s next regular meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21.