Dear Price Families,
I want to update you on the status of your school’s construction project.
As you may know, our plan has been to swap properties with the Lancaster Recreation Commission and build a new school on the site of its former headquarters. Lancaster Rec would renovate the former Price building and move its headquarters there.
Unfortunately, the Lancaster Rec Foundation did not receive the full amount of grant funding it anticipated for this project. It is conducting a feasibility study to determine whether it can raise sufficient funds through private sources to move forward with the current plans. It is unable to move out of its headquarters at this time, which puts our project on hold. Price Elementary will continue to operate in its current location on South West End Avenue.
You may be hearing rumors about the possibility of Price Elementary closing as a result of this delay. There is no basis to those rumors at this time. The school board has several options to move forward with this project, including constructing a new Price school on the grounds of the former building. No decisions will be made until we have the results of the Foundation’s feasibility study.
At the same time, our board is prudently looking to the future and considering factors such as our declining enrollment, our structural fiscal deficit, and the possibility of reducing our real estate footprint to generate revenue and save expenses. Again, no decisions about school closures have been made or are imminent. We are committed to transparency with all stakeholders as we navigate the financial road ahead of us.
Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Keith Miles Jr.
Superintendent of Schools
School District of Lancaster