LANSDALE – The school board held their monthly work session meeting on November 12, 2013 to discuss Hatfield Elementary School additions and renovations set to begin in June 2014.
The issues being addressed in these renovations will benefit many areas in Hatfield. In order to separate the bus loop and the parent drop-off loop, an additional loop will be added for the drop-off students so parents can leave the site without crossover into the bus path. A small parking lot will also be added to add 48 more spaces. There is a planned extension of the health suite and main offices so students can exit the school from them, but the inner doors will lock during the school day and all visitors will still need to check in at the front desk. All classrooms will be renovated to have their own unisex bathroom, with some second floor classrooms being reworked for ESL students, learning support, and special needs.
Hatfield will be completely shut down next school year, as its building structure does not allow for contractors to work on sections at a time with students in the building. Instead, all the students will be included into Pennfield Middle School for the 2014-15 school year. These students will be placed in mods, with all middle school classes taking place inside the main building. Eighteen mods will be added on to the fourteen already at Pennfield to increase classroom availability. One of Pennfield’s gyms will be dedicated to Hatfield events, while sharing the cafeteria will be coordinated with schedules.
The construction is projected to cost about $15,000,000 and will conclude in August 2015 so that Hatfield can open for the 2015-16 school year.
After discussion regarding safety procedures and extra costs, the meeting was adjourned. The next school board meeting will be the action meeting on November 21st at the ESC.