Harrisburg School Board Meeting on Tuesday
Harrisburg property owners may be safe from a tax hike for the upcoming school year.
Harrisburg School District officials shared, at a board meeting on Tuesday, that the updated proposed 2023-24 budget no longer includes a property tax hike.
At a May meeting, district officials stated that the proposed budget at the time would include a 3.25% tax raise. The district planned to use the about $1.4 million raised through the proposed tax raise to support the future of the district’s long-vacant, blighted William Penn school building, explained Dr. Marcia Stokes, chief financial officer for the district, at the May meeting.
However, the proposal has changed as the district shared that it is weighing the possibility of demolishing William Penn.
The district said that it now is considering a $6.9 million contract with Gordian Group to demolish the school building, built in 1926, which has long been vacant. Over the past years, the district has discussed several ideas for the building, including selling it and, more recently, renovating and using it as a magnet school for middle school students.
However, Receiver Dr. Lori Suski said that the district wasn’t interested in any of the sales offers and so took it off the market. Additionally, the cost of renovating the building for district use could cost over $90 million, Stokes said.
“This decision is unfortunate,” said John Reedy, chief of operations for the district. “Due to its condition, we believe this is the best decision.”
According to Reedy, the building has put increasing financial strain on the district as it has suffered from structural damage, fires, break-ins and asbestos. The district has also struggled to find an insurance carrier to cover the building because of its dilapidated state.
Ultimately, the district doesn’t have the funds to renovate the building and doesn’t need the additional building space right now, Reedy said.
If the proposal is approved by Suski, the school district would likely begin demolition in August or September, which would take around a year to complete, Reedy said.
Several school board directors voiced support for the proposal to demolish the building.
“It seems right now we are at the end,” said board director Danielle Robinson. “The building does need to be demolished, as much as it hurts to say.”
Reedy said that the district would still own the land for possible future use.
Suski still needs to rule on the proposal to demolish William Penn.
Also on Tuesday, Suski voted to terminate a contract with LivingWell Institute, which worked to bring professionals from the community into district schools to provide educational experiences to students. District officials said they are considering allocating a portion of the money that would’ve gone to LivingWell to support the addition of two new school resource officer positions to the proposed budget.
“Our goal is to have police serving as mentors, role models and a presence in the school that’ll help kids to feel safer,” Suski said.
The district is slated to vote on the final 2023-24 budget on June 27.
For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.
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