High School Renovation Back on $78 Million Budget

Right now, when the lunch bell rings at Bensalem High School, the students have 30 minutes to get to one of three cafeterias, wait in a very long line to grab something from the menu and get to their seats and eat.

According to Food Service Coordinator Polly Welch, there are times when the line gets so long that the students in the back give up and go the rest of the day without eating.

"It doesn't matter if they are getting a full meal or just want to grab a bottle of water, they have to wait in the same long line," said Welch.

After three years and approximately $78 million of renovations, Welch says, the lunch experience at Bensalem High School will be drastically different. Instead of three cafeterias, it will be one large food court with multiple stations to pick up a meal and several cashiers that will keep the foot traffic moving and the hungry stomachs full.

The cafeteria was one of several stops in a tour of the high school Wednesday night that school officials hope would demonstrate to community members the need for a renovation that will better prepare up-and-coming students for the future.

The evening started with a presentation of the renovation plans that would reconfigure the school into four academies: Ninth Grade, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Fine & Performing Arts, and Business and International Studies.

In May, a presentation of the preliminary design held a $90 million price tag. That figure has been whittled down to the originally proposed budget of $78 million, which includes $62.5 million for project expenses and $15 million for soft costs, such as furniture and construction fees, and contingency funds for change orders.

The renovations still include the approximately $6 million for the construction of a natatorium for the pool, but the new construction of administration areas for each academy have been erased in favor of using existing space. Wind turbines and solar panels have also been removed, but geothermal wells will still be installed to help heat the school.

The inclusion of the wells, which will cycle 55-degree temperature air from out of the ground and into the HVAC system, helped the project receive a $2 million Alternative and Clean Energy Grant. School Board President Ralph Douglass also said that any funds generated from the sale of the closed Armstrong Middle School will be directed to the project.

Approximately 50 people showed up Wednesday to view the presentation and take a guided tour of the school. Opened in 1969, the school has received a few upgrades in its lifetime, including a new roof, siding and a brand new gymnasium that opened last year. However, many members of the tour could not help but point out the outdated lab equipment and the doors and desks damaged by 40 years of wear-and-tear.

"I've always been in favor of the renovations," said Charlotte Moser, who has a son entering the 12th grade and a daughter entering the eighth grade. "We have a lot of smart and strong kids in this district. They should be able to enter a school they can be proud of."

According to a construction schedule presented by Ethan Fick of D’Huy Engineering, bids will go out in April 2014, with construction beginning in summer 2014 and ending November 2016.