High School Project Articles and News Updates
The Quaker Valley School Board Reviews Presentation of Proposed Interior Finishes for the New Quaker Valley High School
read more (QVSD)
Quaker Valley School District getting state funds for infrastructure upgrades for proposed high school
read more (Tribune Review)
Commonwealth Court rules Quaker Valley High School project can move forward
read more (Tribune Review)
Leet planning commission to discuss proposed Quaker Valley High School plans
read more (Sewickley Herald)
Quaker Valley School District holds public hearing for proposed $105 million high school project
read more (Sewickley Herald)
Oral arguments heard in appeal of Allegheny County Court's decision of Quaker Valley High School
read more (Sewickley Herald)
September 28, 2023
Quaker Valley sets max construction costs for new high school
read more (Tribune Review)
New drawings, timeline revealed for proposed Quaker Valley High School
read more (Sewickley Herald)
May 24, 2023
Dr. Tammy Andreyko, Superintendent, provides an update on the new high school project to the Quaker Valley community.
May 17, 2023
Video: Mr. Gianni Floro, chair of the facilities committee, and Mr. Charlie Gauthier, Director of Facilities and Administrative Services, introduced a presentation from BSHM and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in conjunction with Thomas and Williamson which shares the completed design development estimates as well as new renderings and a virtual reality tour of the proposed high school.
May 1, 2023
Video: Updates on the new Quaker Valley High School
April 25, 2023
Quaker Valley High School to remain as is after new school is built, district officials say
read more (Sewickley Herald)
April 4, 2023
More details of proposed Quaker Valley High School released by architects, full site plans yet to be submitted
read more (Sewickley Herald)
March 14, 2023
The Quaker Valley School Board Reviews a Presentation of the External Building Materials for the New Quaker Valley High School. Architects from BSHM and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson prepared a comprehensive presentation with new renderings to share with the District. read more / view presentation
March 2023
Updated renderings of the new Quaker Valley High School: An update on the high school project was sent to all homes within the District in March 2023. This update included a message from the superintendent and school board president, an updated project timeline, and financial information.
read more / view photos and videos
February 15, 2023
Architects release more details of a proposed Quaker Valley High School, district officials pledge strong financial management
read more (Sewickley Herald)
Leet hires special counsel for legal reviews of proposed Quaker Valley High School project
read more (Sewickley Herald)
December 22, 2022
Leet Zoning Hearing Board declines to appeal judge's ruling regarding a proposed Quaker Valley High School
read more (Sewickley Herald)
December 21, 2022
Floor plans for a proposed Quaker Valley High School in Leet approved, more detailed design work continues
read more (Sewickley Herald)
November 30, 2022
Quaker Valley area residents weigh in on Allegheny County judge's ruling of a proposed high school project
read more (Sewickley Herald)
November 29, 2022
Judge Joseph James rules in favor of Quaker Valley School District, overturning the decision of the Leet Township Zoning Board, and allowing Quaker Valley to move forward with the new high school.
read more (QVSD News)
Judge rules in favor of Quaker Valley School District on high school construction project
read more (Sewickley Herald)
November 9, 2022
Court ruling on legal challenge to proposed Quaker Valley High School to come soon
read more (Sewickley Herald)
October 12, 2022
Video: Chat with Charlie
Director of Facilities and Administrative Services Charlie Gauthier and architect John Orsini sit down to talk about the progress of the schematic design and design development for the proposed Quaker Valley High School.
September 20, 2022
Architects for proposed Quaker Valley High School will be paid $50,000 to study how to reduce its energy usage
read more (Sewickley Herald)
September 7, 2022
Litigation regarding proposed Quaker Valley High School continues in Allegheny County Court
read more (Sewickley Herald)
August 4, 2022
Quaker Valley area residents tour proposed high school site in Leet, school opening pushed back
read more (Sewickley Herald)
July 19, 2022
Quaker Valley School District to host tours of proposed high school site
read more (Sewickley Herald)
June 23, 2022
Legal proceedings continue for proposed Quaker Valley High School
read more (Sewickley Herald)
June 9, 2022
First court date set in appeal of Leet zoning board denial of proposed high school
read more (Sewickley Herald)
April 26, 2022
March 2022
QVSD To Appeal Zoning Hearing Board Ruling
After 12 months of meetings and discussions, the Leet Township Zoning Board denied the Quaker Valley School District’s application for special exception to build a school on property off Camp Meeting Road. District leaders are disappointed at this decision but remain optimistic about the project. The Quaker Valley School District will appeal this decision to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
At its February 9 meeting, the Zoning Hearing Board expressed general support for the project but asked the District to amend its application to add an emergency access road. Safety is a top priority of the District, and the current plan includes two separate points of access to the property. The District confirmed that it would provide such emergency access to the site as approved by Leet Township during land development approval, after a review and recommendation by emergency responders. However, for procedural reasons and after consultation with its Solicitor, the District declined to amend its application.
“For procedural reasons, we do not believe that it is appropriate to amend the application eleven months after filing it and after the evidentiary portion of the hearing had ended. This has been an unusually lengthy process, and the District is disappointed that this request to amend was made so late in the process. Any attempt to amend the application at this stage is likely to result in an extension of the hearing before the Zoning Hearing Board and further delay the application process,” says District Solicitor Don Palmer.
As Quaker Valley School District has done with all of its other schools, and as is required by law, the District will work with local emergency management officials to develop and implement a comprehensive emergency plan for the property. The Zoning Hearing Board could have imposed a condition on a grant of approval to address the access issue. The District had confirmed to the solicitor of the Zoning Hearing Board that it would stipulate and agree to a condition being imposed on a grant of approval requiring the District to provide such emergency access to the site as approved by Leet Township during land development approval, after a review and recommendation by the emergency responders.
Quaker Valley School District plans to work with architects and engineers as the appeal process gets underway.
“We think it’s prudent to continue working on parts of the project such as schematic design and listening to feedback from teachers and high school staff,” says Charlie Gauthier, Director of Facilities and Administrative Services. “Additionally, we seek local and federal grants to assist with project funding.”
“We have been flexible and working in good faith throughout this lengthy process. We are disappointed we could not reach an agreement with the Leet Township Zoning Board, but now we are exploring the appeal process. Our communities and children should have access to a new high school that is an integral part of the future of the Quaker Valley School District,” adds Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tammy A. Andreyko.
March 2022
February 2022
Architects from BHSM and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson held three sessions with Quaker Valley High School staff. These meetings allowed for feedback and input from the high school staff members.October 2021
High School Project Update:
A letter to the community from Quaker Valley Facility Director Mr. Charlie Gauthier.
August 31, 2021
June 8, 2021
Click here to watch the video and learn more.
May 11, 2021
View Slides
May 5, 2021
A Quaker Valley High School informational flyer with the latest high school news and information was mailed to all QV residents in early May.
Click here to see the flyer.
April 13, 2021
View Slides
March 24, 2021
March 16, 2021
High School Project Update
Some have wondered why the concept of the referendum, contemplated 4+ years ago, is no longer a central feature of the District’s plans.
At the most basic level, it’s because we are in a markedly stronger, more flexible financial position today than we were then. As such, the condition for fielding a referendum – namely a need to exceed Act 1 Tax and Borrowing limits imposed on us by the State of PA – no longer exists as it might have several years ago.
So what has changed?
Well, the extended search for suitable land, the protracted transaction process, a mid-stream change in Administrative leadership – and more recently the understandable distractions associated with a global pandemic – have all conspired to create a meaningful passage of time since the notion of referendum was first floated. The downside of this passage of time is further delays to a desperately needed new facility. But the delay has not been without meaningful silver linings:
First, and fortuitously, this passage of time moved us directly into the heart of a historically low interest rate environment. This, in turn, allowed us to adroitly retire and/or refinance millions and millions of higher-priced debt over the last several years. In the process, we have reduced our debt load and debt service costs while expanding our borrowing capacity vs 2017 levels.
Second, we have spent the last few years listening to the community’s input about wants and needs for a new HS and working with thought partners on the most cost-efficient and effective way of delivering on these objectives. Through this iterative scoping process is far from finished, it has helped us refine land utilization plans, optimize footprint design, and tighten budget assumptions. This, in turn, has given us confidence that we can deliver on the community’s mandate without piercing our Act 1 Tax and Borrowing limits.
Some in the community have suggested that we should use the Referendum as a non-binding ‘preference survey’ or ‘opinion poll’ to measure community support for the project. The reality is that the State of Pennsylvania Election Code does not give election boards discretion to authorize non-binding Referendum questions on the ballot. In order to place a non-binding resolution on the ballot, there must be specific statutory authority to do so.
The fact is that there are limited instances and conditions where a school district is required to place a referendum on the ballot regarding a school construction project. The QVSD high school project does not meet these conditions. More broadly in the state of PA, referendums on public school projects are neither common nor ordinary practice.
Though a referendum is not an appropriate remedy here, it is important to note that the District is required, by statute, to hold a public hearing on the high school project. And it is the Administration & Board’s intent to supplement our statutory requirements with a series of additional public review and comment sessions to ensure the community continues to have a voice in this process.
I hope this helps provide clarity on the topic of referendums. In the end, a referendum in the state of Pennsylvania is designed to address a math problem. At one point, under a much different fact set, this District may have had a math problem. With the passage of time and adroit financial stewardship, we no longer have a math problem. What we do have is a high school facility problem and the community support to address it together in a fiscally responsible, future-facing way.
For those interested in learning more about this topic or others related to the HS Project, please visit QVSD.org and click the BluePrintQV link."
February 9, 2021
High School Project Update: Director of Facilities, Mr. Charlie Gauthier, provided the answers to some frequently asked questions about the high school project. Director of Communications, Mrs. Angela Conigliaro, provided an update on navigating the District's website to find information about the high school project.
View Slides
January 12, 2021
High School Project Update: At the School Board Work Session on January 12, 2021, Mr. Charlie Gauthier, Director of Facilities and Administrative Services, presented an update on the high school project. The District has requested qualifications from 17 architectural firms and is reviewing those qualifications. A traffic study is being conducted in the areas surrounding the new high school property by Wooster & Associates. Engineering Firm Garvin Boward Beitko gathers additional geotechnical information for the new high school location site #2 proposed by Thomas and Williamson at the May 12, 2020, School Board meeting. The District is working to submit an application to the Leet Township Zoning and Hearing Board. The next steps for the high school project include Issuing Requests for Proposals for architects and engineers, interview architects and engineers. Once hired, they will develop construction documents and specifications and put construction documents out for bid and conduct a bid review.
View Slides
October 21, 2020
High School Project Update: On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Quaker Valley’s Director of Facilities, Mr. Charlie Gauthier, provided an update on the high school project. On Wednesday, October 21, 2020, the District will meet with the Leet Township Planning commission to review the New Quaker Valley High School preliminary site plan. Mr. Gauthier expects the planning commission to table the topic because schools are a Special Exception use within AAA zoning. The next step will be for the District to go to the Leet Township Zoning Board in November to take up the Special Exception use. Then the District can go back to the Planning Commission in December. After that, the goal will be for the District to look for an architect for the project.
Preliminary Site Plan
June 9, 2020
PFM Financial Advisors Present Possible Funding Scenarios for New High School
On June 9, 2020, the Quaker Valley School Board heard from PFM Financial Advisors about three possible funding scenarios for the new high school facility. The entire presentation is available here.
May 18, 2020
Quaker Valley School District Presents Findings for a New High School
In the fall of 2019, the Board hired Thomas and Williamson to evaluate plans for a new high school. Jon Thomas, president and co-founder of the firm, presented his findings, including initial cost estimates for a new school at a virtual board meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. “We are happy that this culmination of work has brought us to the point where we can share this extensive research with the community,” said School Board Vice President Jonathan Kuzma.
Read More
May 12, 2020
Video: School Board Meeting High School Presentation
March 10, 2020
Video: Blueprint QV Update - March 2020
February 27, 2020
Quaker Valley School District Saves Millions by Refinancing Bonds
Quaker Valley School District has saved $4.7 million by refinancing a significant portion of its existing debt. Taking advantage of all-time low interest rate levels, on February 27, 2020, the District refinanced approximately $27.5 million in bonds by issuing new bonds at much lower rates.
The original bonds were from 2010 and were used to pay for the renovation and expansion at Quaker Valley Middle School. The other bonds being refinanced, which were issued in 2005 and 2006 to pay for the elementary school renovations, were first refinanced in 2014.
"The timing was right to take advantage of favorable rates and save the district taxpayers millions in future debt payments. We have been monitoring the market while working on several capital funding scenarios to minimize the tax impact of the future capital projects,” explains Director of Finance and Operations, Scott Antoline. “This refinancing was a critical component to help reduce our debt burden and allow for some capacity to help limit future tax increases.”
The Quaker Valley School Board unanimously agreed to authorize the refinancing at the February 18, 2020 board meeting. "The Board is very grateful to our finance team for swift movement to hit the market at such a low point and save the District millions of dollars. We understand the importance of this as we continue to formulate funding plans for the new high school. We fully intend to implement a fiscally responsible project that balances the value of long term benefit to our community and does so within the mandated fiscal constraints to minimize the potential tax impact,” says School Board President, Sarah Heres.
FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Video: Quaker Valley Superintendent Tammy A. Andreyko discusses communication updates for the District.November 22, 2019
Quaker Valley plans for new school move ahead
The Quaker Valley School Board on Tuesday authorized the issuance of up to $10 million in bonds, payable over 25 years, toward the construction of a new high school on property between Camp Meeting Road and Little Sewickley Creek Road. Read more here. (Post-Gazette)
November 4, 2019
Video: Two Minutes with the Superintendent
Dr. Tammy Andreyko, QV Superintendent, discusses the status of the high school project
September 27, 2019
Quaker Valley takes another step toward a new high school
Board members on Sept. 24 approved an agreement with PFM Financial Advisors to help the district develop a long-term financing plan for the new high school.
This follows board action Aug. 20 to approve a contract with Thomas & Williamson at a cost not to exceed $69,200 to work with the district to develop requests for proposals for design and construction work. The money will be taken from the 2017 construction fund.
“These are strong steps forward toward a very exciting time in Quaker Valley School District,” Superintendent Tammy Andreyko said in a statement. “We look forward to developing a new high school for the community which will serve the district and meet the needs of our students for decades to come.”
Quaker Valley leaders maintain a new high school is needed to replace the nearly 100-year-old building students are learning in today.
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
Designing for Success: An Evening with the Superintendent
At the end of January, Quaker Valley Superintendent Dr. Tammy Andreyko kicked off Blueprint QV: Designing for Success, our initiative based on key strategic priorities that will keep QV thriving. The cornerstone of Blueprint QV is building a new high school for the next century of learning.
Video: Designing for Success Program:
Video: BlueprintQV cornerstone project - building a new Quaker Valley High School
February 7, 2019
A small Pennsylvania high school listens to what teens want. Imagine that.
Jay Matthews, Columnist
Patrick Cox, a junior at Quaker Valley High School in the Pittsburgh suburbs, has learning
disabilities, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — ADHD — or what he calls “not giving two licks.”
Like most special-education students in this country, he has an individualized education program, known as an IEP. It is supposed to help him overcome his disability. Such programs have mixed results, but Cox’s experience has been different because of the unusual character of his school.
Read more
January 31, 2019
The little school that could: In Pennsylvania, a smorgasbord of learning
Quaker Valley High School, in a leafy century-old borough on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, does not look like a hothouse of teenage academic ambition and curiosity. But it is.
In 2016, one of its students, Gabriel Weiner, took and passed 20 Advanced Placement tests, the most for any boy in Pennsylvania. Last year, 29 of Quaker Valley’s students took six to 14 college-level AP tests each, often after online courses or independent study with little teacher involvement. Some of its students with learning disabilities take AP. The school does not label students as gifted, pays all AP fees and believes in saying “not yet” — rather than “no” — when a student asks to do something many educators would consider crazy.
Letting students fly free is rare in American education. There are plenty of little public schools like Quaker Valley, with fewer than 700 students. But very few — I don’t know of any others — require AP exams of all AP students and let them take so many without teachers. Read more…
November 27, 2018
Quaker Valley School Board Approves Purchase of Final Parcel for the Site of New High School
At its November 27, 2018, legislative meeting, the Quaker Valley School District (QVSD) Board of Directors, approved the purchase of the final parcel of property the District needed to continue moving toward the community’s long-held goal of constructing a new Quaker Valley High School.
This approximately 13.75-acre parcel (to be determined through final survey and due diligence), which straddles the boundary between Leet and Leetsdale Townships, abuts the properties off of Camp Meeting Road that QVSD purchased in 2017 and 2018 to be the site for the new high school. Read more
October 24, 2017
Board of Directors Approves $10 Million Bond Resolution for Land Purchase
On Tuesday, October 24, 2017, the Quaker Valley School District Board of Directors adopted a $10 million bond resolution allowing QVSD to borrow money before the end of the calendar year for the purchase of land for a new high school.
The need to purchase land for a new high school comes as an outgrowth of the Quaker Valley School District’s efforts to ensure it has the resources and tools to provide one the best public school educations in Pennsylvania. After reviewing its high school facility, QVSD concluded that no amount of modernization will allow its high school building to effectively meet the needs of students and educators and fulfill the rules and requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The District’s engineers studied the land on which the current high school is constructed and concluded that constructing a new high school on its current site because it is not large enough to meet the District’s needs and 70% of the site sits within a floodplain.
Earlier this year, the Quaker Valley School Board voted to enter into a sales agreement with Three Rivers Trust to purchase a parcel of land in Leet Township, and Edgeworth and Leetsdale Boroughs that is located off of Camp Meeting Road.
Approving the $10 million debt financing allows the District to get better rates and have a bank qualified loan, which could save the District hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the loan. The District has until December 27, 2017, to decide if it wants to buy the identified parcel of land. If the School Board approves the purchase, a sale will likely close in early 2018.
May 30, 2017
Quaker Valley School District Reaches Sales Agreement with Three Rivers Trust to Purchase Land
On Tuesday, May 30, 2017, the Quaker Valley School Board voted to enter into a sales agreement with Three Rivers Trust to purchase a parcel of land located in Leet Township and Edgeworth and Leetsdale Boroughs, at a price not to exceed $7.5 million. A final price for the land will be determined based on the net acreage of buildable land and following a period of due diligence by the District.
“By signing this agreement of sale, the district now has the ability to enter upon the property to conduct all necessary tests and inspections to determine, in its sole discretion, whether the property is suitable for its contemplated use as the site for a new high school facility,” adds School Board President Sarah Heres.
Presentations were made at Tuesday’s board meeting by the district’s legal counsel, its real estate consultant, engineers, and District Superintendent Dr. Heidi Ondek.
“The entire Board and its predecessors have invested years of work investigating all options at the current site and looking at other potential sites. When experts deemed the current site was not suitable for long-term investments and use, we immediately began a search for all possibilities inside and outside the district boundaries,” explains Facilities Chair David Pusateri.”
The school board voted to hire Phillips & Associates engineering firm to conduct due diligence tests and inspections of the property. The district has a period of 120 days to conduct due diligence inspections on the property.
Quaker Valley School District continues to gather input from the community and work with BrainSpaces, Inc., to develop an education plan. The education plan will guide the design of the high school facility. An architectural firm will be hired to develop construction plans.
“The way the district intends to afford this project is through long-term financing similar to how it has with other building projects. The costs associated with building a new school would be separate from the proposed operating budget for 2017-2018. Any project cannot force tax increases beyond the index or qualified exceptions, unless through voter referendum,” says Scott Antoline, Director of Finance.