Catasauqua Area School District Board of Education held a special meeting Sept. 24 to discuss the district feasibility study performed by McClure Company and EI Associates.

The feasibility study of all district buildings, including Sheckler Elementary School, Catasauqua Middle School, Catasauqua High School, district office, field house, maintenance garage, boiler house, transportation facility, Alumni Field and Thomas Field, was approved in September 2023.

The study included demographics such as enrollment projections and building capacities, general data, photographs, floor plans, operational costs summary, building improvements, construction costs, conceptual floor plans, program summaries and cost summaries.

The Sept. 24 board presentation was led by Alyssa Wingenfield, of McClure Company, and Adam Kerr, of EI Associates.

The building facilities portion of the study included a “complete snapshot of all your buildings,” Kerr reported. In addition to a complete assessment of all the buildings, there was a detailed walk-through and photos of each space, notated areas for potential improvement, understanding of use of each space and a detailed list of improvements.

Architectural needs, as identified by EI Associates, include critical roofing repairs, masonry veneer replacement and window glazing corrections and parking lot lighting replacement and augmentation at CHS.

Sheckler Elementary was identified as having insufficient space for a growing student population and needing an entry door replacement in the kindergarten classroom area and a potential replacement of a retaining wall at the generator.

CMS and Sheckler both need masonry veneer replacement and corrections, roofing repairs and water infiltration. It was noted these are normal needs for aging buildings.

McClure Company shared a list of mechanical, electrical and plumbing needs at the school buildings. It was noted some of the HVAC and plumbing equipment are nearing the end of their life and should be replaced. Additionally, lighting should be retrofitted to LED and the public announcement and clock systems need upgrades.

The report also included a utility bill analysis, which noted CHS is the most efficient of the school buildings and CMS has the most usage. Wingenfield reported the numbers are good, but there is room for improvement.

Regarding demographics, the study evaluated current enrollment and historical enrollment trends to look ahead 10 years. EI Associates took into consideration housing developments in the district’s municipalities and cyber and home-schooled students, which could add more students to district buildings.

The report indicated there should still be space at CMS and CHS, but Sheckler poses a potential problem with building capacity.

During the course of the study, meetings were held with building principals to discuss programmatic needs and develop existing use plans and a visual program, develop room lists and create proposed plan options and a visual program.

The majority of recommendations for CHS were the infrastructure needs, with no real spatial changes needed. Minor spatial adjustments were recommended for CMS with the potential renovation and relocation of spaces. The Sheckler recommendations included the addition of more classrooms to compensate for the growing student population.

The plan includes specific options for the school buildings. Since there were not many spatial needs identified for CHS, additional floor plans were not required.

CMS, as the “most aged building,” needs a number of infrastructure upgrades, along with recommended renovations of a number of spaces within the school, including the auditorium, offices, music suite, STEAM classroom and more. New asphalt paving and a potential new parking area were also on the list of options.

A number of options were included for Sheckler. In addition to needing more classroom areas, the district is exploring grant funding for a new community center on site.

Included in the building options was the potential to build a new middle school near Sheckler and the administration building. It would require reconfiguring the athletic field, playground area and traffic patterns. It was noted there is not enough space at the current middle school site to construct the new building there without major educational/activity interference.

There was concern among the board and residents about the additional traffic this would add to 14th Street, which is reportedly already a concern. Kerr noted they would look into traffic patterns, entrances and drop-off times.

Costs were included for all of the “rank one” — most critically needed — upgrades for all facilities and for all of the updates. There were additional cost options included for if the district just updates the existing middle school or constructs a new one.

This gives the board and administration a snapshot look at “today’s probable costs” for each option broken down clearly.

Additionally, the study looked into grant opportunities being explored by the district, including Act 33, Act 34 and the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program. Act 33 establishes the School Environmental Repair Grant. Act 34 is for public school facility improvements, which the district is exploring for the CHS roof repairs. The community facilities grant would help with constructing new spaces at Sheckler.

Moving forward, the district is looking to get more community input to help inform board and administration decisions on which options and recommendations to pursue. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christina Lutz-Doemling said they are preparing a communication that requests feedback from the community. The board and administration will then take all factors into consideration, including financials, the recommendations from McClure and EI and community input, before making final decisions.