The Issue: The website of the Democratic candidates for Lower Merion School Board states: "Industry publications show that Harriton and LMHS are in line in size and cost with comparable school districts". In fact, for the past year, members of the community have been asking the current School Board and Superintendent to identify even one new high school, anywhere in the country, that is as big or as expensive as the proposed New Harriton and Lower Merion on a per student basis. The silence is deafening, leading to only two possibilities: (1) This Board thinks it is not accountable to the community at large, and can choose to ignore them; OR, (2) No such school exists.
The Facts: Below is a table comparing the proposed New Harriton and Lower Merion to other new high schools currently underway throughout the United States. All of this information is taken from the 2007 School Planning and Management Construction Report.
Profile of New Schools Currently Underway
Based on National Statistics
National medians |
$/Sq. Ft. |
$/Student |
Sq. Ft./ Student |
No. of Students |
Building Size (Sq. Ft.) |
Building Cost ($000’s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elementary |
$148.15 |
$18,333 |
122.2 |
700 |
80,000 |
$11,600 |
Middle |
$149.79 |
$21,469 |
143.8 |
825 |
119,900 |
$18,000 |
High Schools |
$151.52 |
$26,111 |
166.7 |
1,200 |
224,000 |
$35,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low Quartile |
$/Sq. Ft. |
$/Student |
Sq. Ft./ Student |
No. of Students |
Building Size (Sq. Ft.) |
Building Cost ($000’s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elementary |
$123.14 |
$14,650 |
105.8 |
540 |
65,368 |
$9,000 |
Middle |
$126.82 |
$17,777 |
128.8 |
600 |
87,000 |
$12,000 |
High Schools |
$134.50 |
$20,411 |
141.7 |
800 |
145,000 |
$24,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High Quartile |
$/Sq. Ft. |
$/Student |
Sq. Ft./ Student |
No. of Students |
Building Size (Sq. Ft.) |
Building Cost ($000’s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elementary |
$180.20 |
$23,550 |
136.8 |
800 |
94,800 |
$15,755 |
Middle |
$173.68 |
$26,668 |
160.6 |
1,100 |
154,000 |
$24,733 |
High Schools |
$184.10 |
$35,682 |
201.8 |
1,800 |
300,000 |
$47,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top 10 Percent |
$/Sq. Ft. |
$/Student |
Sq. Ft./ Student |
No. of Students |
Building Size (Sq. Ft.) |
Building Cost ($000’s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elementary |
$241.94 |
$30,051 |
157.7 |
946 |
113,384 |
$20,812 |
Middle |
$229.41 |
$34,006 |
188.9 |
1,200 |
195,000 |
$30,000 |
High Schools |
$253.38 |
$50,715 |
240.0 |
2,200 |
350,000 |
$65,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lower Merion Schools |
$/Sq. Ft. |
$/Student |
Sq. Ft./ Student |
No. of Students |
Building Size (Sq. Ft.) |
Building Cost ($000’s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Harriton |
$307.21 |
$82,346 |
268.0 |
1,250 |
335,055 |
$102,933 |
Lower Merion |
$328.61 |
$87,973 |
267.7 |
1,250 |
334,646 |
$109,967 |
Combined |
$317.90 |
$85,160 |
267.9 |
2,500 |
669,701 |
$212,900 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Premium vs. Top 10 Percent |
$64.50 |
$34,445 |
27.9 SF |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
% Premium vs. Top 10 Percent |
25.5% |
67.9% |
11.6% |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Notes:
(1) Base: 303 Elementary Schools; 100 Middle Schools and 83 High Schools
(2) 2007 School Planning & Management Construction Report
(3) Lower Merion Costs exclude District Administrative Offices (DAO) and Operations Department (Buses and Maintenance) estimated at an additional $32 Million.
The Conclusion: Harriton and Lower Merion are off the charts based on both size and cost per student. If LMSD constructed both schools based on the Top 10% of new High Schools in the country ($50,715 per student) instead of their proposal ($85,160 per student), both schools would cost $126,787,500 instead of $212,900,000, a savings to the taxpayers of $86,112,500. The current Democratic-led Board lacks either the desire or the know-how to build schools that are appropriate for the needs of the community.
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