Freeport Area close to approving high school renovation
BUFFALO TWP — The Freeport Area School District board’s Jan. 15 meeting may be the last time the public gets to comment before moving forward with a vote on potentially renovating the high school.
School board President Gary Risch said at the board’s meeting Wednesday, Dec. 11, HHSDR Architects & Engineers will be present at the January meeting to answer any questions community members may have.
“For anybody in the public, or anybody that wants to get that out there, this will possibly be our last board session and question session before we actually may vote on a project, moving forward. So tell your friends, tell your aunts, tell your cousins, tell your grandmas, anyone that would like to come and discuss the final stages of our renovation project, this will be the time to do that,” Risch said.
Approving a potential project will happen in the month or two following the January board meeting.
“Hopefully we can get everybody’s questions answered. We hope to act on this February, at the latest in March if we have everything organized,” Risch said.
A feasibility study for the Freeport Area School District was conducted by HHSDR back in April 2024, offering various construction options. The study showed the district’s enrollment remaining steady around 1,900 students, and remaining so through the 2032-2033 academic year.
The feasibility study showed six potential options: building an entirely new high school, adding a high school to the current middle school building, two separately proposed projects of additions and alterations to the current high school, a full-scale renovation, and two separate proposed relocating of students between existing district buildings involving minor renovations to the elementary and middle schools.
The proposals ranged in cost, with the cheapest option at just under $22 million, while building an entirely new high school would cost just over $109 million, according to the feasibility study posted on the district’s website. The district has not said publicly which option they would prefer.
For reference, the school district’s budget expenditures for the 2024-2025 academic year was $38,447,833, and revenue was $37,550,540.
Discussions of potential renovation projects are not sudden. The school board and administration met with HHSDR back in February 2023, discussing master plans at the time that had various options.
