LANSDALE-  On Tuesday evening, the North Penn School Board met for their October work session to discuss a big decision facing North Penn today; whether or not to begin construction on Crawford Stadium in the originally planned October time frame.

As always, the meeting began with an Audience of Citizens, where members of the community have the opportunity to directly address issues with the Board. One woman passionately argued her case that the flawed PA system at NPHS should be fixed before millions of dollars are poured into Crawford Stadium.

The stadium was what the Board next discussed. Following the discussion among the Facilities Committee last week, the topic was brought upon the entire School Board to debate. A number of Board members expressed their concerns over the tight timeline for the project, which had construction beginning in just weeks and being completed by next June.

“The timeline would certainly count on a lot of work getting done in this fall season,” expressed Superintendent Dr. Curt Dietrich.

“If we’re gonna do it, we have to do it right; and I’m worried about the timeline,” added Board member Jonathan Kassa.

The Board thoroughly emphasized the fact that they want to see that this project is done right, not just quickly in order to adhere to the timeline.

Another major con of beginning construction in October 2019 is that if we have intense snowfall or an excessively rainy spring, the future of the project and Class of 2020 Graduation will be in jeopardy.

So, after a briefer than expected discussion, the Board voted unanimously to reject the current bids for Crawford Stadium construction, and then voted 7-1 (one Board member, Ed Diasio, was not present) to re-open bidding to contractors. The new timeline for construction would likely lead to the stadium project beginning in June after commencement. 

Chief Financial Officer Steve Skrocki was not present for the work session, but at last week’s Facilities Committee Meeting, he gave a thorough explanation of the bidding process-to read his detailed explanation, click here.

The Board’s decision is sure to elicit a wide range of responses from the community. If North Penn community members wish to voice their opinions about this decision, the Board will meet for an Action Meeting on October 17 at 7:30 p.m at the ESC.