Published: July 02, 2006 11:46 pm      

School district weights renovation choices

EBENSBURG — With the ink barely dry on a 2-mill property tax increase, Central Cambria school district officials now are testing options for a new or renovated middle school, meaning another tax hike as high as 10 mills.

The school board wants to close the middle school in the county seat’s historic section on Highland Avenue in the fall of 2007, and eventually sell it.

Options on the table:

n Sixth-graders remain in elementary school, while seventh- and eighth-graders move to the high school on Route 422 in Cambria Township.

The cost would be $250,000 to retrofit the high school. Savings would be $250,000 annually, plus whatever a sale brings.

n Renovate the existing middle school, which was built in 1926.

The cost would be $2 million to $5 million, depending on requirements such as handicapped accessibility.

n Build an addition to the high school to accommodate grades six, seven and eight.

The job would cost $8 million to $20 million, depending on size.

“We’re continuing to look at all the options, and the costs of all the options,” said schools Superintendent Susan Makosy.

In fact, the district now is using a questionnaire on its Web site to determine public opinion on which path the district should follow. So far, the votes are overwhelmingly in favor of students remaining at the middle school.

As of Friday, 95 people had responded, and about 86 percent – 82 of them – said they prefer that students remain at the middle school.

And all but 10 rejected school officials’ most recent plan to have sixth-graders remain in elementary school, while seventh- and eighth-graders move to the high school.

Survey respondents were split over whether a new middle school addition to the high school be built – 50 yes to 41 no.

In a fact sheet passed out at recent board meetings, administrators explain that the middle school, once Ebensburg High School, is an aging building that needs repairs and up-grades.

Also, enrollment at the current high school is declining. It was built in 1972 with a capacity for 1,000 students in grades nine-12.

But by fall 2007, enrollment for grades seven-12 is expected to be 905 students.