CRANBERRY TWP — The I's are dotted, the T's are crossed.

The Seneca Valley School District now has the township's blessing to build a new school off Ehrman Road.

At Thursday's board of supervisors meeting, township officials unanimously approved a conditional use application and the district's land development plan, paving the way for the erection of a two-story school on a more than 150-acre campus at 2070 Ehrman Road.

In September, the school board set the maximum project cost at just under $79 million, with a building construction cost of $60.5 million.

The future building, in a shape resembling the letter X, will house about 1,400 K-6 students in two wings, divided by age. It will replace the aging Evans City facility, which houses students of the same age.

Virginia Loaney, of Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, an engineering firm helping the district through the project, said the district sought waivers from some ordinance requirements, adding many of them increased student safety.

In one such instance, the district asked for permission to plant deciduous, rather than evergreen, foliage, saying it would allow those charged with student security to have a better view of the entire property. Those trees would have lower branches cut to allow farther sightlines.

The property on which the school is to be built, Loaney said, also provides for many security measures.

Hills are plentiful on the property, and engineers and architects found a way to shield green areas from those who may not be permitted on school grounds by using those hills. Additionally, an entrance at which parents drop off their children will be on the first floor, while the bus entrance will be located on the second level.

“The goal is really nestled into the site, utilizing some of the existing terrain, which also allowed us to save a lot of vegetation,” Loaney said.The total developed area of the site will be around 60 acres, leaving 90 acres of land. That comes partly due to the terrain beyond the developed area, Loaney said.

Jason Kratsas, Cranberry's director of engineering and environmental services, said the roads to drop-off areas will come from an intersection on Ehrman Road. The school district will incorporate pedestrian areas into that roundabout, building a crosswalk from that intersection to Old Ehrman Road and allowing access from that sidewalk to the parent drop-off area.

Though the eventual vote was unanimous, it didn't come without questions from the board.

Dick Hadley, chairman, asked whether there would be access to the school from the remaining 90 acres that are undeveloped. Loaney said there would be no rear access, but the board agreed to require that in the ordinance approving the school's land development plan.

The district expects to request proposals from bidders in February 2020.