Franklin Regional hires consultant to review the state of its athletic facilities

In 2016, Franklin Regional officials undertook a district-wide facilities study, commissioning experts to take a hard look at all of the district’s buildings and infrastructure.

The results weren’t pretty — the study estimated the district would need to spend between $73 and $97 million over the next decade to address all of the issues in its buildings, and that was just to keep things at the status quo.

The study led to the renovation of the former Sloan Elementary, and construction of the new Franklin Regional Intermediate School that opened in 2021.

With the exception of Newlonsburg Elementary School, which dates to the 1920s, and the new intermediate school, all of the district’s buildings were constructed over a relatively short 17-year period, between 1952 and 1969. On a broader timeline, that meant wear and tear over the decades was happening at roughly the same rate in all district facilities.

At the time, architect Dan Engen, who helped conduct the study, said the district needed to find a way to balance repairs with renovation and new construction so that all of the district’s buildings were not falling into disrepair at the same time.

With the $54 million elementary campus now four years into operation, the school board voted Monday to approve a $10,000 contract for Sharon architects HHSDR to conduct a feasibility study on its athletic facilities.

“We have a lack of athletics facilities,” Superintendent Gennaro Piraino said. “We have a lack of sufficient fields for our teams, locker room space for all of our athletes, lack of pool time and the condition of our pool. It puts us at a disadvantage when coaches are having to cancel practices because there’s no field available.”

Piraino said the previous school board, which approved the elementary campus project, had several goals.

“One of those goals was to not burden future boards,” he said. “We wanted to look at a 15-year process that would ensure our buildings are all up to par, and that we got onto a good construction and renovation cycle. This is the next step in that process.”

School board member Deb Bucciero said she can see and feel the difference among educators and students in the elementary buildings.

“There’s just such a contrast between our old and our new buildings,” she said. “There is a lot of work to be done, but it’s not going to be done all at once. It’s not going to all be done tomorrow.”

Piraino said the district’s goal is to have the study’s highlights ready to present to the school board by late spring 2025, “but we’re going to make sure to do our due diligence and not rush it.”