JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Richland School District Superintendent Arnold Nadonley stressed several times during Monday’s school board meeting that no elementary school building project had been slated. But the board heard from architects about what that undertaking may look like and cost.
“The idea of tonight is to just illustrate the overall need of the building,” HHSDR Architects Vice President Jonathan Finn said.
He and H.F. Lenz Principal John Weiland provided an overview of potential schematic designs for the elementary school, which was a comprehensive plan.
Those included redesigned spaces for art and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics); a new gymnasium; additional classrooms and restrooms on both floors in the back of the building; new bus and parent drop-off routes; a new office suite in the front; and a pre-kindergarten wing on the Schoolhouse Road side with a separate entrance.
Included in that work would be infrastructure improvements, such as potentially zoned HVAC with an overhead system; plumbing and electrical updates; and an air-cooled chiller system.
Kelly Lashinsky, elementary principal, and Director of Facilities John Ribarich provided supporting reasons for the project.
Lashinsky said there’s no space to establish a pre-K, which is a goal of Richland’s; some targeted instruction has to be handled in hallways because of space constraints; there’s no dedicated music area, which is why a modular office space was acquired for outside the building; the cafeteria is too small because it’s shared space with the gym; and there’s no classroom space to accommodate growing class sizes, to name a few.
“We’re like sardines in there,” Lashinsky said.
According to Pennsylvania Department of Education data, Richland is projected to reach a roughly 20-year peak enrollment of 1,682 in the 2029-30 school year with the pre-K addition.
In the 2025-26 term, the district is expected to have 1,567 students, which represents a steady five-year increase from 2020-21, when there were 1,480 students in attendance.
Some of Ribarich’s main concerns included an aging HVAC system, old windows and a roof that’s in need of replacement. He told the board he’s concerned about water infiltration every time there’s a heavy rain.
“We’re pushing our luck now,” Ribarich said.
Finn said there are a lot of aspects to consider with a possible project and this is not an endeavor to take lightly.
“The building is definitely in need of attention,” he said. Finn added that’s not to mean it isn’t well-maintained, which it is. The oldest portion of the elementary opened in 1962, with the newest section in 1996.
If the district were to approve the comprehensive plan, that could cost around $57.5 million with additional soft costs of roughly $9 million.
There are also potential additions and removals that could impact the cost, such as limiting renovations, development of a multipurpose field and a second playground, parking and a district record storage addition.
A possible timeline could include design development completed in February 2026 with one year of construction engineering to follow, bids going out in May 2027, construction starting in June 2027 and a total completion goal of January 2029.
Nadonley said the district would explore a variety of financing options should the board choose this path. He also said an elementary improvement project could be done in phases and not all at once.