State College Area School District will receive a $105,906 grant from a statewide program for addressing environmental hazards in school buildings.
The district is one 109 statewide awarded a combined $75 million this week from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Environmental Repairs Grant program, which supports remediation or abatement of issues such as lead, asbestos and mold.
SCASD will use the funding for lead abatement in the old section of the State College Area High School North Building that was formerly home to the Career and Technical Center, a district spokesperson said. The space is being renovated to house the district’s information technology department and the Reclaiming Individual Talent (RIT) program.
The CTC moved to the new State High South Building in 2018. While much of the North Building was renovated for athletics and the Delta program as part of the State High rebuild project, the old CTC space was not included.
The Environmental Repairs Program was established by Act 33 of 2023 and the funding was included in the 2023-24 state budget.
“Dedicated teachers and school staff are the No. 1 reason our students thrive, but they also depend on a safe, hazard-free learning environment,” state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, said in a statement. “That’s why I worked to secure budget funding that addresses all our district’s educational needs – from staffing and curriculum to building improvements that ensure safe and healthy classrooms. With this new funding, State College Area School District will have the resources needed to identify and eliminate any building hazards so students and staff can stay safe and focus on the business of learning.”
