Freeport Area School District officials agree that the district’s aging high school, at a minimum, needs renovations.

The challenge ahead is determining how far the district can go.

The school board recently released the results of a feasibility study conducted by HHSDR architects and engineers that offers ways to address the high school’s deteriorating facilities.

Built in 1961, the building “is not conducive to 21st century learning” and lacks “modern safety and security standards,” Superintendent Ian Magness said.

By commissioning the report, the district effectively departed from a master plan begun in 2021, which called for renovations totaling at least $60 million.

HHSDR presented nine options ranging from a $22 million retrofit of an undefined vacant building to a new $109 million high school.

All but three of the options would relocate the high school, demolishing the portion of the existing building with classrooms and keeping the rest as an arts and sports facility.

District leaders will need to factor stagnant enrollment into their decision.

With 1,850 students, about 1,000 seats were vacant this year in classrooms in the district’s two primary buildings, the middle school and the high school.

The report projects only modest enrollment growth over the next decade.

Other options include downsizing from four to three buildings at a cost of $23 million or $36 million, depending on related renovations, and adding the high school to the existing middle school for $75 million.

If the district were to reduce its physical footprint, the middle school would become the high school, middle school students would move to South Buffalo Elementary School, and all K-5 classrooms would be taught at an expanded Buffalo Elementary School.

The district replaced the high school’s boilers last year and plans to upgrade electrical service this summer. These systems would continue to serve an arts and athletics building.

Modifying or expanding the existing high school could cost between $54 million and $81 million. Of the three renovation-based plans, the most ambitious would upgrade the auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium while moving administrative offices to the high school.

Several options call for moving the administrative offices away from Route 356. According to Magness, that building could be affected if PennDOT decides to widen that portion of Route 356, something it has considered for years.

For Gary Risch, president of the Freeport Area School Board, the most attractive options are on the least expensive end of the spectrum. He prefers the two proposals that would reduce the number of buildings from four to three.

“We can’t afford a $75 million project because we’re still paying for the high school,” Risch said. “I like what the taxpayers can afford and what we can afford as a district right now.”

High school debt payments will be extended through 2034.

Risch said it’s unclear at this time if the district will have to raise taxes.

By not committing to a more expensive plan, Risch hopes the board can give the district’s future leaders a chance to adapt if enrollment growth exceeds expectations. Housing developments are planned for Buffalo Township and South Buffalo, although Risch is skeptical the area could become “the next Cranberry.”

Taxpayers can weigh in on the proposals at a committee meeting on May 1.