JACKSON TWP. — Seneca Valley School District wants to connect two high school buildings and build a new performing arts center — for potentially more than $100 million.

The district revealed the project and its nine-figure cost at the school board’s Monday, Aug. 4, work session. The board unanimously approved moving forward with receiving proposals and holding an Act 34 public hearing.

The main part of the project proposal is a three-story academic classroom facility. It would connect the senior high school to district offices and the intermediate high school. A portion of the existing intermediate high school would be razed.

The second part of the proposal is the performing arts center, which will go in after the other new addition gets built. It will be attached to the intermediate school building.

The Act 34 cost limit for the building construction project is $114.65 million. Meanwhile, the cost limit for the entire project, including costs after the fact, is $165.89 million.

The project was first reported in April, but no details or costs were available at the time.

John Pappas, president of Eckles Construction Services, emphasized the cost limits given do not necessarily mean the district will spend all the way up to that limit. Act 34 of 1973 mandates public hearings and setting cost limits for certain projects.

“The numbers tonight are state-mandated as part of any process. We have to follow the Act 34 state law for projects, so for those numbers, there’s a formulation that the architects run through that establishes those numbers,” Pappas said.

The project is multiple years in the making. Pappas said Seneca Valley did a feasibility study about three years ago, and the project has been under design for the past year and a half, with anticipation it will go out for bidding this fall.

Pappas and Eckles has overseen projects at Knoch and Karns City school districts.

The school district would pull about $20 million from its capital reserve fund to help fund the project. Seneca Valley passed a $180 million budget for 2025-26, with its fund balance entering the year at $32 million.

“This is definitely a long-term project. We’ve been at this for quite some time,” Dana Kirk, the school district’s business manager, said. “Over the last few years, the district has been proactive to set that $20 million aside toward the project; and the remaining cost after the bids come in and all the phasing is put together, we will finance those other pieces. We’ll align the financing with those phases.”

Anticipated groundbreaking for the project is around February 2026, with a final completion likely to be around fall of 2030. The district is looking at about four and a half years of construction with various phases, while work inside building would be staggered for summers, Pappas said.

Continued district growth is a big reason for the decision to move forward with this project.

“The focus and appropriation is about growth within the district. To give you an idea, we found out our kindergarten numbers just from last year are up 80 students,” Linda Andreassi, district communications director, said. “You just have to drive around in our district boundaries to know there’s quite a bit of growth.”

There will be an Act 34 public hearing Sept. 8. Pappas said there will be a lot more detail and information to see that will help the public understand what the project is.