Northern Lehigh School District will be working on athletic field complex upgrades this year, and is looking at a feasibility study that could result in grade realignment.

Grade shifts could result in a price tag of $26.8 to $30.2 million, based on a presentation from Emily Liuzza, project architect, Alloy5, and Mark Gallick, McClure Company, to the school board in October.

Under the proposal, grades 1 and 2 would leave Peters Elementary School and move to Slatington Elementary School, while sixth grade would leave Slatington Elementary and move to Northern Lehigh Middle School.

The Peters Elementary building would close, with Slatington Elementary housing grades K-5 and Northern Lehigh Middle School grades 6-8. Northern Lehigh High School would remain grades 9-12.

In order to have one campus, Liuzza said Step 1 would be a middle school addition, while Step 2 would be a Slatington Elementary addition.

As part of the middle school addition, the building would house grades 6-8.

Liuzza said it would call for a proposed single-story addition and supplemental van drop off. Essentially, it would create a new frontage to the district’s campus.

She said programs identified for that space are six core academic classrooms, some special education classrooms (Life Skills to move to this as a middle level building and a learning support building as well) and a library.

Liuzza said that based on today’s numbers, the total estimated cost is $10.6 million to $12.2 million.

She said design documentation would take 8 to 10 months, permits 6-8 months, and construction 12-18 months.

Under the Slatington Elementary addition, the building would house grades K-5.

Liuzza said it would include Peters Elementary on common campus, as all of K-5 would be under one roof. That, she said, would see efficiency for students, staff, and teachers to continue to improve.

Liuzza identified a K-1 addition at the north end of the site to function primarily as a separate space, add onto the cafeteria space to accommodate six grades, and a proposed location for a gym location.

She said a proposed gym addition to the west with its own separate entry, separate bathrooms, would be functional for after school sports.

The second level would be the kindergarten classrooms (Head start, Life Skills, Learning support, IU spaces).

Liuzza said it would create an entry and admin. space at the K-1 level, would have its own admin., its own nurses suite, and on the second level would get a supplemental library.

Each of these classrooms would have a separate toilet room, something important for K-1 and all the specialty spaces that go along with that as well.

The third level would be a separate story to that and would be first grade classrooms and their supplemental learning support and their IU classrooms as well, Liuzza said.

She said that based on today’s numbers, the total estimated cost for this would be $26.8 to $30.2 million.

Liuzza said the scheduled for design and documentation would be 18 to 27 months, permits and land development, 18-20 months, and construction 24 to 28 months.

Athletic upgrade

Renovations have been in the works for the district’s athletic field complex as part of a near $2 million improvement project.

In September, the school board approved the change order for the baseball and softball complex renovations to include softball outfield underdrain alternate, flagpole installation, outfield underdrain alternate, flagpole installation, and complete renovation of the softball outfield including regrading, sodding of softball and baseball outfields, and relocation of each field’s scoreboard, at an additional cost of $218,856.

In June 2023, the board awarded the contract submitted by the LandTek Group for baseball and softball facility improvements utilizing the Equalis Group Cooperative Purchasing contract for the amount of $1,905,700 pending legal review.

In February 2023, the board approved the agreement with ELA Group Inc. to provide design, engineering and permitting services for renovation and new construction of the district baseball and softball complex, with a basic services fee of $80,000, with an optional additional services fee of $4,500 for design of the softball outfield renovations.

It was stated at the time the total project costs, including all construction, professional service fees, contingency and other soft costs was not to exceed $2,033,000, or at a cost not to exceed $2,170,000 with the optional softball outfield renovation as part of the final construction contract, as presented and pending legal review.