Comparing Consolidation, Infrastructure Improvement, and Campus Model Scenarios

Introduction

The Southern Tioga School District is or has evaluated three significant options to address its educational infrastructure and long-term planning needs. This breakdown provides a comprehensive analysis of each scenario, outlining the structure, implications, and potential advantages and challenges associated with each choice.

Option 2: $40,000,000 Infrastructure Improvement at All Five Schools

12/15 – Pathway A: Voted Down during meeting. After, Pathway B (North/South) was passed. Pathway C (Consolidate) was voted down. After additional discussion, Option A was reintroduced and passed 8-1.

12/11 – Pathway A: This option is likely DOA.

Added to consideration. This is a modified version of the original option that seeks to address maintenance needs at all 5 schools. The original price estimate came in around $89,000,000.

This scenario involves investing $40 million to upgrade and improve all five existing schools within the district.

• Configuration: All current schools—including both high schools and all elementary schools—would remain open and operational, each receiving infrastructure improvements as needed.

Potential Advantages:

• Preserves the current school structure, maintaining community identity and minimizing disruption for students and families.
• Addresses deferred maintenance and modernization needs across the district.
• May improve safety, accessibility, and energy efficiency in all buildings.
• Allows debt service to be staggered and utilizes unassigned capital reserves to limit tax increases.

Potential Challenges:

• Does not address possible enrollment declines or operational inefficiencies associated with maintaining multiple small schools.
• No estimated operational cost savings.
• Ongoing maintenance and staffing costs remain unchanged.
• Attendance boarders between regions may continue to be squeezed to ensure at least minimum viable enrollment is achieved at Liberty campus.
• Reduces the ability of the school district to seek financing for future building upgrades and repairs and prevents the district from implementing future operational and staffing efficiencies for at least 20 years.
• A little over half of the funding required to complete all maintenance items would still be needed. Items not completed may need to be addressed prior to this debt service being satisfied.

Context

• Investment in maintenance at all 5 schools has been continuously deferred for approximately 4 years while waiting for the school board to make a final decision about all of the options that have been on the table.
• Some maintenance has been deferred for approximately 14 years while the assumption of a consolidated High School was under consideration.
• It’s cheaper to have capable maintenance personnel on staff and fund internal maintenance efforts than it is to contract out work.
• The List of required work presented by Alloy 5 doesn’t give an actual list of specific items that needs fixed, it only gives high level categories. That list would be developed and detailed in the next step of the process. (ie: Windows need upgraded, but doesn’t break down that most of the windows are in good condition. If a window breaks, we can replace it using internal resources.)
• When performing large upgrades to a building, it can be cheaper to include side work in the package. (ie: The windows are starting to break down, let’s go ahead and replace them while we are working on insulating the exterior of the building.)
• Seeing signs of potential double-speak from the STSD administration in an attempt to steer discourse, specifically promising things they can’t or that are highly dependent on the school board not changing it’s mind down the road.

Borrowing:

Presented at 11/3/2025 work session by PFM – All 5 School Improvements – perform roughly 50% to 60% of work categories noted in Alloy 5 presentations. Limited tax impact, but reduces or eliminates borrowing capacity beyond this for about 15 years while debt is serviced. 20 year rolling debt service.

Option 3: North and South Campus Model (Closure of Blossburg Elementary)

12/15 – Pathway A: Voted Down during meeting. After, Pathway B (North/South) was passed. Pathway C (Consolidate) was voted down. After additional discussion, Option A was reintroduced and passed 8-1.

12/11/2025 – Pathway B

Original Consideration, reintroduced.

This option proposes dividing the district into North and South campuses, which would result in the closure of Blossburg Elementary School.

• Configuration: The district would operate distinct North and South campus schools, consolidating student populations and closing Blossburg Elementary. Students previously attending Blossburg Elementary would be reassigned to other schools within the new campus model.

Potential Advantages:

• Would lead to minimal facility operational cost savings through partial facility closure as the District offices would continue to be housed at this location.
• Estimated operational Cost Savings of approximately $1,200,000.00 per year.
• Would lead to staffing cost savings.
• Would allow for similar sized classes (Student/Teacher Ratios) across the district. BES and LES currently overstaff due to too few students for each teacher. WLM is at the appropriate ratio.
• Eliminates travel time for shared teachers (some teachers share their time between LES and BES.
• Potential to strengthen academic and extracurricular offerings by concentrating student populations.
• Eliminates need to repurpose the majority of Liberty High School to an Elementary school in the case of future high school consolidation.

Potential Challenges:

• Disruption for students and families affected by the closure of Blossburg Elementary.
• Possible overcrowding or transportation challenges depending on how students are reassigned.
• Impact on the Blossburg community due to loss of a neighborhood school.
• Student sports are currently integrated.  Decisions would still need to be made to de-integrate sports and build new sports fields, or continue with the additional enhanced bussing required of integrated sports.
• Lack of Police presence at the South campus community.

Borrowing:

Presented at 11/3/2025 Work Session – BES/LES Consolidation into new LES addition to NP-Liberty High School. 25 year debt service. Proposes eliminating BES. Est. $1.2m indirect cost savings (Operational).

Option 4: 4 Building/3 Campus Model (Closure of Liberty Elementary)

12/15/2025 – Alternative to Pathway B – this may come under consideration in January.

12/11/2025 – Alternative to Pathway B – not under consideration.

Option introduced during the 11/3/2025 STSD Board Work Session

This option proposes maintaining the district’s North and South Mid/Highschool campuses, closing Liberty Elementary, and performing a minor expansion of Blossburg Elementary School..

• Configuration: The district would operate distinct North and South campus High schools, then consolidate Liberty and Blossburg Elementary student populations to Blossburg Elementary School. This would lead to the full facility closure of Liberty Elementary School. Some current students at BES may be reassigned to WLM in Mansfield.

Potential Advantages:

• Would lead to facility operational cost savings through full facility closure.
• Estimated operational Cost Savings of approximately $1,200,000.00 per year.
• Would lead to staffing cost savings
• Would allow for similar sized classes (Student/Teacher Ratios) across the district. BES and LES currently overstaff due to too few students for each teacher. WLM is at the appropriate ratio.
• Eliminates travel time for shared teachers (some teachers share their time between LES and BES.
• Potential to strengthen academic and extracurricular offerings by concentrating student populations.
• Reduced price to implement vs. Option 3 due to limited changes needed.
• Facility as a whole has enough space to support all students. If the district offices are moved to a new location or addition, the facility would reach the target ~80% capacity with limited changes.
• Local Police, Fire, and Ambulance Services readily available.
• All needed infrastructure and services already in place.

Potential Challenges:

• Disruption for students and families affected by the closure of Liberty Elementary.
• Increased transportation time for Elementary age students
• Impact on the Liberty community due to loss of a neighborhood school.
• Lack of Police presence at the South campus community.

Borrowing:

Copy of Option 3 numbers, Presented at 11/3/2025 Work Session – BES/LES Consolidation into existing BES school. 25 year debt service. Proposes eliminating LES. Est. $1.2m indirect cost savings (Operational). This is a direct copy of the Option 3 worksheet as numbers for this specific option have not been presented. It is assumed that the total amount borrowed would be the same, but distributed differently since a new structure would not be needed.

Option 1: Consolidated High School in Blossburg, PA

12/15 – Pathway A: Voted Down during meeting. After, Pathway B (North/South) was passed. Pathway C (Consolidate) was voted down. After additional discussion, Option A was reintroduced and passed 8-1.

12/11/2025 – Pathway C

Removed from consideration during school board business. This leaves options 2 and 3 on the table.

11/10/2025 Board Meeting – Voted to update the Operational Cost Savings for this option for comparison to other options. It was identified during this meeting that the original PFM costing worksheet for the consolidated scenario did not include all of the Estimated Operational Cost Savings. The $1,300,000 figure cited in the material was ONLY the cost savings for the High School consolidation and did not include the cost savings from combining BES and LES schools. Updated operational cost savings would be expected to be around $2,500,000 to $3,000,000 per year.

Under this option, the district would establish a single, consolidated high school located in or around Blossburg, PA. Elementary schools would remain operational in Liberty, PA, and Mansfield, PA.  Blossburg would accept the trade off of having a central high school, but losing an elementary school.

• Configuration: All high school students across the district would attend the new facility in Blossburg. Elementary students would continue to attend their respective local schools in Liberty and Mansfield.
• Liberty High School would be converted into an Elementary School. 
• Blossburg and Liberty Elementary would be moved to the repurposed Liberty High School.
• Existing Liberty Elementary School building would be retired.

Potential Advantages:

• Centralizes high school resources, potentially offering expanded academic and extracurricular programs.
• Improves operational efficiency and reduces duplicate staffing or administrative costs.
• Estimated operational Cost Savings of approximately $2,500,000.00 per year.
• New or upgraded facilities could enhance the learning environment for high school students.
• Police, Fire, and Ambulance Emergency Services continue to be available in Mansfield and Blossburg Campus locations, and Fire/Ambulance services in Liberty.

Potential Challenges:

• Older Students from outlying areas may face longer commutes to Blossburg.
• Blossburg Elementary age students would face busing to LES or WLM
• Community concerns regarding the loss of a local high school presence in other towns.
• Potential costs associated with constructing the consolidated high school.

Context:

• The main goal is to enhance academic programs while reducing costs and rightsizing the district footprint.
• Assumes the school would be built in or around Blossburg due to public infrastructure already being available: Sewer, Water, Electric, Gas, Fiber Internet.
• Combines NP-Liberty and NP-Mansfield into a consolidated site
• Converts NP-Liberty High School building into an elementary school
• Closes Liberty Elementary School and Blossburg Elementary School, then moves students to the former NP-Liberty High School building.
• Closes NP-Mansfield
• Makes use of the existing Island Park recreational fields in Blossburg
• It would need to be determined what to do with the NP-Mansfield and LES sites after the restructuring is complete. They would be reused, sold off, mothballed, leased out, demolished, etc.
• Depending on the specific site chosen for the consolidated High School, BES may be reused, sold off, mothballed, leased out, demolished, etc.
• Achieves significant operational cost savings into the future.
• Reduces unused space
• Consolidates teaching staff into specific areas and eliminates Split & Travel requirements for some staff.
• Keeps a school in each community, although Blossburg does have the tradeoff of either an Elementary School or a Highschool, but not both. The alternatives are no school, but keep a district office.
• The price tag is between $60m and $80m. The School Board has not directed Alloy 5 to add or remove any items for the list that would affect the cost of a school build. Add a gym: $10m, remove a gym: -$10m, etc.

Borrowing:

25 Year Borrowing: Consolidated High School Build + Liberty HS Conversion to an Elementary School + LES Mothball + Mansfield HS Mothball. Numbers prepared 3/6/2024. Only includes indirect cost savings for the Consolidated High School and does not include indirect cost savings from LES/BES combining.

Total Borrowed assumes 100% of all tasks needed and completed. Does not include the calculation of compounded indirect savings or future savings from inflation avoidance.

NP-Blossburg / Blossburg Elementary Site Option Info:

Alternative Site Option Info:

NP-Liberty High School Converted into a new Elementary School (No additions). Likely applies with either Onsite or Alternate site HS plans

Supporting Documents

Conclusion

Each option presents unique benefits and challenges. The consolidated high school model prioritizes centralization and potential program enhancement but may increase travel times for some students. Infrastructure improvement maintains the status quo and upgrades all facilities but comes with a significant financial commitment and does not address existing inefficiencies, reduce operating costs, and limits the ability of the district to address declining enrollment for 20 years. The North and South campus approach aims for operational efficiency but involves closing a local school, impacting the Blossburg community. The district will need to weigh these factors carefully to select the best path forward for students, families, and taxpayers.