Senior Lauren Markich works on a painting during an art class at Seneca Valley Senior High School. The district is gearing up for an $8.8 million expansion of the school, which will provide room for 300 more students.

JACKSON TWP — While many of the major additions and renovations in the Seneca Valley School District occurred in the 1990s, the growing district made several needed updates during the 2002-03 school year and continues to plan for the future.

Six classrooms were added to Connoquenessing Valley Elementary in Harmony in 2002-03, while Evans City Elementary/Middle School got a new roof, more parking and an entrance security system.

Haine Elementary/Middle School in Cranberry Township, which was built in 1968, received new sidewalks in 2002-03 after the construction of 38 classrooms that would become the middle school for grades five and six in 1996.

Rowan Elementary in Cranberry Township is facing a student population overload. Modular classrooms have been used there for several years and some classes are being conducted in hallways.

Many parents have complained to the school board about overcrowding at Rowan, but as yet no expansion has been planned. The district spent $100,000 in 2002-03 to relocate the modular classrooms.

One of the most recent and biggest developments in the school district has been the installation of an artificial turf field at Raiders Stadium. The project was approved by the school board last winter and the turf was installed over the summer.

The cost of the project was $640,000, but a maintenance fund was set up that will be financed through a $5 student activity fee for athletes, as well as business sponsorships at the field.

Tickets to school sporting events at the field increased $1 in the 2005-06 school year to help pay for the turf.

The district also is involved in an $8.8 million expansion at the high school. Contracts were awarded in January for the project, which is expected to take one year to complete.

The 40,000-square-foot addition will house 300 additional students. The expansion will include a three-story classroom and laboratory section, a one-story cafeteria addition and a one-story addition to the SVTV television studio.

The current enrollment of 1,117 juniors and seniors at the senior high school has produced crowding that has left some students in hallways to do their science experiments.

Most recently at Seneca Valley, board members heard administrators recommend the construction of a new complex for students in grades seven and eight on property the district owns on Ehrman Road in Cranberry Township. That project is in its infancy, so no details about the potential school are available.

Administrators also recommended the school board redistribute to Haine Elementary/Middle School about 168 students from six Cranberry Township housing developments to ease overcrowding at Rowan Elementary and even out the number of students in each class across the district.

That change could take place as early as next school year.

<b>Address:</b> 124 Seneca School Road, Harmony, PA 16037<b>Telephone:</b> 724-452-6040<b>Web site:</b> www.seneca.k12.pa.us<b>Superintendent:</b> Don Tylinski<b>Enrollment:</b> 7,642<b>Municipalities served:</b> Cranberry, Forward, Jackson and Lancaster townships; Callery, Evans City, Harmony, Seven Fields and Zelienople boroughs