Repairs to Hopewell Elementary Could Cost $12 Million

Southern Lehigh School Board member Dr. Elizabeth Stelts discussed the results of a recent facilities study at Tuesday's board meeting, characterizing it as "not pretty."

Stelts told the board that repair estimates for Lower Milford Elementary School are close to $3 million.

For Hopewell Elementary School, the estimate for renovations is $12 million, she said.

"We're going to have to make a decision on what to do. It's a lot of money," Stelts said of the estimate for Hopewell. "And personally, I don’t want to as they say 'throw good money after bad' in repairing the school."

With the exception of new windows installed at Hopewell in 2006 and a roof re-coating the following year, neither elementary school has seen a major renovation in decades, according to an article published by the Morning Call.

A more detailed, formal presentation about the results of the facilities study is to be made to the board in the future.