LANSDALE- Taking the next steps towards the new future of North Penn High School, the North Penn School Board approved advertisement of Bid Package 2 regarding the high school’s renovation project at the May work session on May 6th, 2025 at the North Penn Education Services Center.
The bulk of the meeting was filled with renovation updates, provided by Jamie Lynch of CHA Solutions and David Schrader of Schrader Group Architects, with comments added by Dr. Pete Nicholson, Administrator for Secondary Education and Renovation, and Bill Slawter, Director of Facilities and Operations. The presentation was broken into the four phases of work, with explanations on the renovation as well as the budget, backed by mockups of the renovation.
Lynch provided that Phase One is already in action, with bids and notice to proceed already complete and shop drawing and procurement underway. In late June of this year, renovations will start in the natatorium and K-Pod, which will be followed by work on temporary classrooms and fuel tank removals.
“All of this is the outcome of weekly meetings. One week between your team, our team, construction management, all of the engineers, and so on; and then the opposite week is in our office doing the real detailed and finesse work on this. You’ll find folks two to three times a week meeting with individual groups about specific topics: door hardware, building systems, and so on. It’s been quite a process,” Schrader said.
A timeline for Phase Two was provided, focused on the renovation of everything north of the auditorium and H-Pod: A, B, C, and D/E pods, including the IMC and cafeteria areas.
Phase Three will be a continuation of designs and will include renovations regarding the auditorium, music classrooms, tech education, gymnasium, main lobby; conversion of J-Pod from art to fitness classes; and utilization of the audion into temporary classrooms. The focus of F, J, H, and G pods are anticipated to take place from January 2028 to August 2030.
Phase Four will be a part of the 2029 Bid package and will be focused on total site restoration following construction, including parking lot, roadways, sidewalk, landscaping, and field renovations.
Overall, the renovations will improve accessibility with ADA compliance, aid in traffic dispersal and circulation throughout the school, and achieve a “community college feel,” the presentation described.
“I think it’s going to be such an inspirational space for students to work in, so they can feel more like that community college feel, because that’s really what we’re training our kids to be able to do,” Dr. Elisha Gee, North Penn School Board member, commented.
President Cathy McMurtrie began the meeting by honoring national teacher appreciation week, thanking “teachers, lunch heroes, and school nurses” on behalf of the school board.
All items of the Superintendent’s Report were approved, which included the consent item contracts for Penndale’s field trip to Camp America and for Mary Burch to fill in for BCBA on leave in the Special Education Department.
Following the Superintendent’s Report, the personnel reports were approved. The positions of Madison E. Gee and Norman Gee, III- both alums of North Penn- for the position of Extended School Care Program Assistant in the District Summer Camp Program were approved; the motions of Joanna Chaves as secretary for Board of School Directors as well as the election of Tara B.G. Houser as the non-member Treasurer of the Board of School Directors were approved as well.
The May work session also marked Charles Linderman’s last meeting as interim Chief Financial Officer, who was thanked for his time and assistance with the district.
As per the district site, action and work session meetings are held in person at the Educational Services Center located at 401 E. Hancock Street Lansdale, PA 19446 unless otherwise noted. These meetings will be televised live and added to the library for later viewing on the NPTV YouTube Channel. All upcoming meeting information can be found on BoardDocs.
