New Liberty-Curtin school plans unveiled

BLANCHARD, PA –  No negative comments were heard as the Keystone Central School District gave a Monday night update on plans for a new Liberty-Curtin Elementary School. The event was held at the existing school, dating to 1963, the speakers KCSD Superintendent Jacquelyn Martin and Brett Umbenhouer, Liberty-Curtin Principal.

Their presentation lasted nearly an hour and some 30 people, most of them Liberty-Curtin parents, were in attendance.

Umbenhouer narrated a special video, a walk through the proposed new one-story structure. He reviewed the bright, airy building design featuring “collaborative areas” for teaching or other purposes and the shared use of some rooms to save overall project costs. He offered an art and music room as an example, noting that teachers in those subjects did not visit the school on the same days.

Superintendent Martin spent a portion of her presentation on costs and the project timeline. She talked of the increase in costs since the project was first forwarded in October of last year; it now carries a price tag of between $18.2 million and $20.7 million. This would cover the building construction, site development and soft costs.

She stressed that every effort will be made to keep costs down and said a stage for the building will be bid as an alternate and could be eliminated if deemed necessary.

Financing would come through two bonds of $9.9 million each, she said, and a portion of capital reserve money would be used for site development and demolition of the existing building. The new structure would be located to the west of the present school, on what is now a parking lot.

Dr. Martin talked of multiple deficiencies in the existing building, a factor in moving ahead with a new school, rather than renovations. She offered an aggressive timeline for the new school, with school board action following a required public hearing in October, approval of bids in November and the start of construction in January of next year; completion by August of 2025.

Four school board members, vice-president Roger Elling, facilities committee chairman Jeff Johnston, Liberty-Curtin area representative Polly Donahay and Elisabeth Lynch were in attendance and offered support, Lynch emphasizing the need to control costs. Elling said the project is “something that needs to be done,” telling school parents present, “You deserve this.”