Carlisle Area School District’s new Middle School provides quality new educational spaces while being cost effective and over $10 million under budget.
The Carlisle Area School District’s new Middle School is a transformative educational facility designed to support modern pedagogy, student-centered learning, and long-term district needs. The project balances high-quality design with fiscal responsibility, ultimately delivering a facility that came in significantly under budget. The project came in $68.7 Million under the established budget and cost of $270/ SF.
Project Overview
The new Middle School is a 213,447 square-foot, two-story building located adjacent to Wilson Intermediate School. The facility is designed to serve seventh and eighth grade students, with each grade level organized on its own floor to enhance both operational efficiency and age-appropriate learning environments.
Educational Design and Planning Strategy
The building is organized around a ‘Main Street’ concept, which separates academic spaces from core shared program areas. This layout supports both functional efficiency and improved student experience.
- Academic areas are separated from high-activity zones to maintain quiet learning environments
- Core spaces include cafeteria, gymnasium, auditorium, technology education, and music
- Clear circulation pathways improve student flow and supervision
- Zoning enhances safety and operational clarity
The academic wing is organized around a central outdoor learning courtyard, which provides flexible space for hands-on instruction, environmental learning, and student collaboration. Each grade level, which occupies a floor of the two-story academic wing, is made up of four teams. Early in the planning process, the design team identified the importance of having the classroom wings connect back to the core of the building. This model of organization improves circulation, provides equity, and connects the teams, making each grade level feel like a learning community and reinforcing the School District’s philosophy of “One Carlisle.”
The building is planned for an educational capacity of 1,000 students, and it is designed to accommodate future growth should expansion become necessary beyond the foreseeable future. The project also reimagines the organization and use of the northern portion of the campus, including:
- Relocation of the northern entrance to campus, including roundabouts intended to slow down and improve the flow of vehicular traffic.
- A new, age-appropriate playground for what will become Wilson Intermediate School.
- Enhanced pedestrian pathways through campus.
- Reforested natural areas.
- Creation of a new parking lot on the former site of the Old Bellaire Elementary School, which will serve the campus athletic facilities.
Project Background
CRA was hired in 2023 to conduct a District-wide feasibility study exploring various options to address challenges that the Carlisle Area School District was facing. During months of careful study, a committee comprised of nearly 100 district faculty and staff members, parents, and community members studied and discussed the challenges and opportunities of the District facilities. The need for change was driven by several key factors.
- Growing enrollment. Cumberland County is the fastest-growing county in Pennsylvania. New housing developments are bringing more students to the schools, with growth concentrated in the northern end of the District.
- A need to balance elementary class sizes. As enrollment shifts, some schools and classes are becoming larger or smaller than others. The District wants to ensure that it can provide balanced and reasonably consistent class sizes to maximize student/teacher instruction and space.
- A desire to more effectively support the growing number of students who need special services. The District needs to ensure it has the space in its schools to provide the small-group programming and therapeutic and educational services that best support students.
- A need to maximize the placement of staff in schools so that every student has the same access to excellent programs. The District wants elementary and middle-level students to experience the same excellent programming regardless of which school building they attend.
- Aging school buildings. The resources saved in costly maintenance and repairs can be spent more effectively on new spaces that offer more opportunities.
Feasibility Study Process
Through a collaborative process, the committee considered nine different options that explored various ways to reconfigure grade levels, incorporate a new school building, and use existing spaces differently, before finally selecting an option, which proposed the following:
- Realign the existing K-5 elementary buildings to K-3 elementary schools, and close/repurpose two of the District’s oldest elementary schools with the highest operational costs.
- Convert the existing 6-8 Middle Schools to 4-6 Intermediate Schools.
- Construct a new Carlisle Middle School for grades 7-8.
The option ultimately chosen by the committee provides a long-term, financially sustainable solution to enrollment growth, aligns programs, responds to student needs, and increases efficiency by spreading K-8 programming across fewer buildings. It also allows CASD students to come together at an earlier age, on a single campus, which supports a more unified experience for students before high school.
The completion of the new Middle School in August of 2028 will allow the School District to carry out its plan for realignment and reconfiguration of its K-8 programs.
Construction Bid Results
The project achieved significant cost savings through strategic planning, cost effective design, and favorable market conditions.
- Construction Budget: $76.1 million
- Final Construction Bids: $68.7 million
- Total Savings: $10.5 million
District Vision and Cost-Effective Design Leadership
Throughout the design process, the District administration and architectural design team worked collaboratively to ensure consistency with the District’s vision, delivering the most functional and aesthetic value while achieving it in a cost-effective manner. According to Superintendent Colleen Friend, “The goal is to better fit the district’s facilities to the distribution of students, enhance the instructional program, and ensure each student is placed in a modern building with a full range of educational services.”
Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates (CRA) has a long-standing reputation for delivering cost-effective educational facilities across Pennsylvania.
- Nearly 30 years of K-12 design experience
- Consistent track record of low-cost-per-square-foot projects
- Data-supported performance based on Pennsylvania Department of Education benchmarks
- Focus on value-driven design and constructability
The project also benefited from favorable construction market conditions in South Central Pennsylvania at the time of receipt of bids, including strong competition among qualified contractors, high bidder participation across all prime contracts, and stabilization of construction material costs.
Project Impact and Outcomes
The School Board awarded bids on March 19 and construction is anticipated to begin in May. The project will be complete for the 2028-2029 school year. The project represents a forward-thinking investment in educational infrastructure, combining design excellence with fiscal discipline.
- Modern, student-centered learning environments
- Efficient building organization and operations
- Enhancement of the campus organization, design and connectivity
- Improved educational opportunities for students
- Significant cost savings delivered to the district
- Long-term adaptability and scalability
