HERMITAGE, PA. Board considers closing school, moving pupils

School officials said they're only looking at options at this point.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Closing Hermitage Elementary School and moving its pupils into nearby Artman and Delahunty elementary schools would cost between $2.2 million and $6.8 million.
That will be the price should the Hermitage School Board decide to undertake the project.
There are no definite plans for any changes, but the school board does have concerns about the status of the Hermitage Elementary building, which is more than 50 years old and doesn't meet the needs of the third and fourth grades housed there, said Duane Piccirilli, board president.
Remodeling that building to bring it up to modern standards would be more expensive than putting an addition between the Artman and Delahunty buildings (now separated by a small parking area and yard) and moving the pupils into that location, said Superintendent Karen Ionta.
Like Piccirilli, Ionta stressed that no specific plans have been drawn. This is a matter of the board wanting to see what options are available, she said, after Monday's school board meeting in which architect Charles Rogers of HHSDRof Sharon outlined the addition plan.
Deciding factors
Artman houses kindergarten, first and second grades, while Delahunty houses fifth and sixth grades. The addition concept would add the third grade at Artman and the fourth at Delahunty, Ionta said.
Closing Hermitage Elementary might save the district enough in operating costs to pay the annual debt service on the addition between Artman and Delahunty, she said, adding that those numbers aren't yet available.
Piccirilli, who is leaving the board next month, said the board will have to decide whether to close Hermitage Elementary, to replace it or to build the Artman/Delahunty addition.
If it is closed, the district may be able to lease it to some agency or group, he said.
Addition costs
Rogers said the Artman/Delahunty addition would cost between $2,257,000 and $6,782,500, based on the scope of the work.
The higher cost would involve renovating Delahunty to secure state reimbursement for part of the work, but Rogers said Delahunty really doesn't need to be remodeled.
The district could do a one-story, eight-classroom, 15,000-square-foot-addition without state reimbursement at a cost of $2,257,000, Rogers said, noting the annual debt service on a 15-year loan to pay for it would be $189,600.
A two-story, 16-classroom, 30,000-square-foot-addition without state reimbursement would cost about $4,504,000 with an annual debt service of $378,350, he said.
The larger addition, with renovation of Delahunty, which would be necessary to secure that reimbursement, would total about $6,782,500 with a total debt service of $569,700.
The state would pick up about 25 percent of that cost, leaving the district to come up with $435,480 a year, Rogers said.