Quaker Valley School District continues to make progress toward construction of the new Quaker Valley High School, with several important regulatory and land development milestones approaching.
Currently, the District is navigating the permitting processes of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for its Chapter 102 permit, a key approval necessary to move forward with land development. A draft permit was issued and put on display for the required 30-day public comment period. Quaker Valley has received communication from DEP regarding remaining items that needed to be addressed, and the District’s response with all addressed items was sent to DEP in early October. The department then has a prescribed review period during this stage of the approval process within which they must respond to Quaker Valley’s permit application.
Upon the receipt of the Chapter 102 permit, the District can move toward public bidding and preparations for land development, including land clearing, stormwater management, and land reinforcement. Additional approvals remain in progress, including the Chapter 105 permit, highway occupancy permit, and final grading permit; however, those approvals are not expected to prevent land development from moving forward once the Chapter 102 permit is secured.
Preparing for Land Development
In September, Leet Township approved a two-year extension of the District's existing land development approval. Originally granted in October 2024 and scheduled to expire in October 2026, the approval now extends through October 2028. The extension accounts for the additional time required to navigate the state and federal regulatory permitting processes over the past two years and will the professional intention to not extend beyond this newly approved date.
The District is also seeking Leet Township’s approval of an amendment to its land development plan later this fall. The amendment reflects changes to stormwater management requirements resulting from DEP reviews and updated codes that took effect in 2026.
If the remaining permitting process progresses as anticipated, Quaker Valley anticipates opening public bidding in early spring 2027, with land development beginning shortly thereafter. Site preparation is anticipated to take approximately one year, followed by approximately two years of building construction. These estimates remain dependent upon permitting, bidding, site conditions and other factors that can affect a public construction project.
Updating the Project’s Financial Framework
As the permitting process has extended the project's timeline, the passage of time has also affected the financial parameters established for the new high school.
Under the advisement of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Quaker Valley will conduct a new Act 34 hearing. The District previously held an Act 34 hearing in September 2023, establishing a maximum building cost of $105 million. Three years later, a new hearing is necessary to establish updated maximum project parameters that account for inflation, current market conditions and annual changes to PDE allowances and regulations.
Importantly, the new Act 34 hearing does not represent an expansion or redesign of the new high school. The building footprint has not increased. The District continues to move forward with the same planned building footprint that previously underwent the public review and approval process.
The updated hearing instead recognizes a practical reality of the extended project timeline. The cost of constructing the same building today cannot be measured using 2023 dollars. Like other goods and services, construction materials and labor costs change over time. The new Act 34 process will establish updated maximum parameters based on the current environment while providing another opportunity for public review and comment.
A Long-Term Investment in Quaker Valley
Throughout all processes of this project, the purpose behind the project remains unchanged. The new high school is designed to provide modern learning environments, improved accessibility, community-wide stormwater and runoff improvements, enhanced site and traffic safety, and facilities that better support Quaker Valley's academic, arts, and athletic programming.
The benefits of the new high school project will extend well beyond the students and staff who use the building each day. The site plans include significant improvements to stormwater, runoff and sewage management that will benefit those who live along and travel Camp Meeting Road, as well as neighboring properties downhill from the site. Designed to work with the existing landscape and terrain, the project also incorporates measures recommended through extensive study by the District’s geotechnical engineers to further stabilize and protect the hillside.
Once complete, the new high school and surrounding campus will also provide spaces for the broader Quaker Valley community to use and enjoy, including meeting and rental spaces, community gathering areas, walking trails, tennis courts and more. Together, these improvements represent an investment not only in a school facility, but in infrastructure, resources and spaces intended to serve the greater Quaker Valley community for generations.
For Quaker Valley, the project represents an investment not simply in a building, but in the students who will learn there for generations.