The School District of Lancaster is beginning the fourth and final phase of its master facilities plan, with upgrades to seven schools and athletic facilities, at a cost approaching $200 million.
The school board in December approved a phasing schedule to demolish and rebuild Price Elementary and Burrowes Elementary beginning in January 2024. Renovations to Wheatland Middle and King Elementary would follow in January 2025. Renovations to Hamilton Elementary and Carter & MacRae Elementary would begin in January 2027.
Over the same time span, the district will upgrade athletic facilities at Wheatland Middle and McCaskey High and make improvements to Phoenix Academy’s facility on Rockland Street.
The current schedule calls for construction to be complete by the summer of 2028, though the school board can still adjust the timing of the projects.
| Project | Begin | Complete | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Elementary | Winter 2024 | Summer 2025 | $32.5 million |
| Burrowes Elementary | Winter 2024 | Summer 2025 | $26.5 million |
| Wheatland Middle | Winter 2025 | Summer 2026 | $39.2 million |
| King Elementary | Winter 2025 | Summer 2026 | $26.8 million |
| Hamilton Elementary | Winter 2027 | Summer 2028 | $19.7 million |
| Carter & MacRae Elementary | Winter 2027 | Summer 2028 | $9.7 million |
| Phoenix Academy | TBD | TBD | $24.1 million |
| Athletic Facilities | Winter 2023* | TBD | $20 million |
*The varsity soccer field renovations are scheduled to be complete in time for the fall 2023 sports season.
The estimated cost of the phase is $198.5 million. The financing plan calls for the district to take on additional debt through 2048. SDoL currently pays approximately $14 million each year in debt service, or 5.3% of its budget. The new debt would push the annual debt service to $22.5 million annually.
“This is the largest amount of financing we would need at one time for the district, and it’s the largest number of projects in any one construction phase,” said Matthew Przywara, the district’s acting superintendent. “Some of the buildings in this phase have not seen meaningful improvements since the 1960s.”
The plans include the first major upgrades to the district’s athletic facilities in nearly three decades. Among them, the home and visiting grandstands will be renovated to meet accessibility standards and accommodate an eight-lane track, which is required to host large invitational competitions. Synthetic turf fields will be installed in the stadium, in the current site of the varsity soccer field and at Wheatland Middle School to improve durability of the playing surface.