ADAMS TWP — Mars Area School District’s board of directors voted 8-1 to approve plans for a nearly $24 million elementary school expansion project at a meeting Tuesday, March 12.

The $23,960,016 project addresses the school district’s growing student population as well as overcrowding in the Mars Area Elementary School. It involves additions to instructional space and the cafeteria, site improvements, a STEM room conversion and playground relocation.

Developed over many months, committee members decided the option would be the less costly — and more flexible — alternative to renovating the Mars Area Primary Center.

The decision follows a presentation last week by superintendent Mark Gross, in which he shared the renovation committee’s recommendations.

The project, which gives the elementary school flexibility to one day accommodate students in kindergarten through third grade, would also allow for further renovations and district changes in other buildings after the elementary school project is complete, and could mark one phase in a series of renovation and expansion projects undertaken in the future.

Tuesday evening, the board also decided to ask consulting firm Thomas & Williamson for project management proposal. Board members Lee Ann Riner and Daniel Long both expressed that it would be helpful to have a project manager in place early on in the process.

Board members Tuesday evening also approved the district’s 2024-2027 comprehensive plan.

The document, which is available on the district’s website, lists professional development goals, as well as educational strengths and challenges that will inform teaching strategies in the next four years.

According to the plan, the district’s goals include proactively identifying academically at-risk students, increasing student achievement and improving student performance in math and language arts.

The plan can be read at https://tinyurl.com/3tkw3dx3.