Wellsboro Area School District Study

District Wide Feasibility Study

The Wellsboro Area School District consists of seven townships and the Borough of Wellsboro, the county seat of Tioga County. The community has long prided itself on providing a high quality educational program while remaining among the bottom 50 Pennsylvania School District’s in total per pupil expenditures.

Problem

As a result of extended tight fiscal management and age, the district’s schools; a high school constructed in 1956, middle school constructed in 1932 then expanded in 1964, an intermediate elementary school built in 1967, and primary center erected in 1956, were in need of extensive upgrades and modernizations. The district was also losing increasing numbers of pupils to private and religious schools, many of whom were citing the desire for full day kindergarten as a key reason for abandoning the public school system.

Process

To address the community concerns, Vern McKissick (first as partner in charge of the Harrisburg office of Hayes Large Architects and later as president of McKissick Associates PC) implemented a three?phase study process (Conditions Assessment, Needs Prioritization and Options Development, and Master Action Plan or M.A.P. development).

Initial public meetings regarding planned school development drew more than 500 attendees. A testament to the success of an extensive Public Information Program (P.I.P.) for building community consensus, only 3 residents attended the district’s Act 34 hearing for the project. Key in the process was the establishment of a 30 person building advisor group which was composed of a representative from the community including the mayor, fire chief, representatives from the local chamber of commerce, Growth Resources of Wellsboro, the county commissioners, sports booster clubs, and the PTA.

Solution

The final solution adopted by the Board included renovations & additions to the Charlotte Lappla Elementary School to accommodate an early childhood through grade one center at a cost of $4,900,000. The second phase (for which a community-based curriculum planning process is now underway), will involved renovation & expansion of the existing senior high school building. More information is available at the project’s ACT 34 hearing information page.

Project Images