Residential development in New Hanover Township over the last five years has forced the Boyertown Area School District to renovate the high school.

        The addition of approximately 100 homes each year between Route 73 and Swamp Pike, and the projected addition of 300 students, helped to facilitate the $61 million construction project, according to David Szablowski, the district's chief financial officer.

        "That development has had a huge effect on us," said Szablowski, who also serves as secretary to the district's board of directors.

        According to the administrator, complete build out of the proposed Town Center, which includes 760 residential units, might force the district to build a new elementary school in the township.

        Szablowski said that district officials estimate that the town center, to be built on 200 acres along Swamp Pike between Township Line Road and the Wawa convenience store at the intersection of Route 663 and Swamp Pike, would add 420 students.  "It's a big concern for us," he said.

        The additional students has led to classrooms that average between 27 and 28 in both elementary schools in Montgomery County - Gilbertsville and New Hanover/Upper Frederick -that exceed the 25-student limit recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, according to Szablowski.  "We're running out of space at those two schools," he said.

        In order to relieve that overcrowding, district officials decided to shift all sixth graders to the two junior high schools and educate ninth graders at the high school.

        Officials decided to renovate at the high school to accommodate those additional students, according to Szablowski. He wrote in an email that the construction of an additional 25,000 square feet will include a new gymnasium onto the north side of the building and an art wing on the west side of the building.

        The former cub gym will be renovated to house the music department with dedicated rooms for the band, orchestra, and chorus, according to the administrator. He stated that the ROTC will be moving to the current music space.

        The work will also convert the oldest portion of the school, from the early portion of the 20th Century and located near the intersection of East 4th and North Monroe streets, into a center for ninth graders, according to information posted at the district's website.

        According to Szablowski, completion is expected prior to August of 2017, when ninth graders will move to the high school.

        He said district officials will likely have to make a decision about how to deal with any residential development in approximately three years.

        One solution could be expanding and upgrading the Colebrookdale Elementary School, according to Szablowski.  He said the board might also approve the construction of another elementary school in the Montgomery County portion of the district.

        A few years ago, district officials examined the possibility of building a school adjacent to the Boyertown YMCA near the intersection of Dotterer Road and Route 663 in New Hanover, according to Szablowski.

        He said the two entities would have shared certain facilities as a cost-saving measure.

        "It made a lot of sense," the administrator said. "Several legislators were very supportive."