Public Invited to Talk About High School Project Wednesday Night

If you have questions about the current status of the Bensalem School District's plans to renovate the high school, administration officials want to hear them.

Members of the public have been invited to a community charrette at Bensalem High School on July 31, beginning at 7 p.m. According to a release from the school district, the session will share the reasons for the renovations, the educational vision, the latest designs prepared by EI Associates and D'Huy Engineering, a tour of the building and a Q&A period.

"It's a 44-year old building," school board President Ralph Douglass said during a presentation at Wednesday night's meeting of the Bensalem Business Association. "We want to get up to date with current standards and install more energy efficient technology."

The latest design presented to the school board in May held a price tag of $90 million. The plan includes reconfiguring the school into an academy structure, building new common areas for each academy, combining the three cafeterias into one that would replace the swimming pool and constructing a separate natatorium for the pool.

The school board agreed to cap the bond issue at $78 million to fund the project. The proposal for just renovating the existing property, including site work, contingency and soft costs such as permits and fees, came in at an estimate of $77.6 million. The new construction of common rooms and a natatorium added an extra $12 million to the cost.

According to the projected schedule, the request for bidding on the project will start in March 2014, with construction beginning in June 2014 and ending in November 2016.