BVA officials seek public input on renovations

A town hall will take place Oct. 29, and a survey is available for residents on the district’s website.

Belle Vernon Area School District officials are seeking community input as they discuss future school renovations.

A town hall is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at the high school gymnasium. It will begin with a presentation of the current conditions of the district’s schools, student demographics and trends. After the presentation, registered speakers will be able to share their thoughts and ideas.

Superintendent Timothy Glasspool announced that a survey to get community input regarding future projects has been opened up for those who will be unable to attend the town hall.

“The Belle Vernon Area Board of School Directors invites all community members to attend a town hall meeting for school facility planning,” Glasspool said. “This is an important opportunity for residents to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas regarding the future of our school buildings and facilities.”

The link for preregistration and the survey are on the school district’s website in the news and announcements page at www.bvasd.net.

After all preregistered speakers have had a chance to make their comments, any other BVA resident or business owner will have the chance to speak for two minutes.

“The purpose of this meeting is to gather valuable input from the community as we plan for potential upgrades and/or renovations that will support our students and educators for years to come,” Glasspool said. “Your participation is essential to ensuring that our school facilities meet the needs of our growing community.

“We encourage everyone to attend and voice their opinions. Together, we can create a vision for the future that reflects the values and priorities of our community.”

Some of the questions in the survey ask about the importance of renovating schools, priorities the district should consider and grade-level configuration. The survey gives local residents the option to include full responses if they feel the need to do so.

The town hall is a result of recent facility assessments made by two firms, Site Logic and Thomas & Williamson. The assessments have found the district’s elementary schools are in most need of renovations.

The Thomas & Williamson assessment suggests replacing Marion Elementary and making it a higher priority when it came to renovations. The same assessment found that the total replacement cost for Marion could be $49,497,203.

Thomas & Williamson also added that the high school is in good condition but requires modernization.

Both assessments can be found on the district’s website.