Two schools of thought clashed in the Avonworth Elementary School gum Tuesday evening, as the district's school board sought public comment on a proposal to purchase adjacent property for the construction of a primary center that would house grades K-2.

On one side was a group of parents who said they had moved to the area specifically so that their young children could attend Avonworth schools, and who wanted the district to spare no cost in educating students. On the other side were parents and taxpayers who argued that the $20+ million project was not only unnecessary, but fiscally irresponsible.

The meeting was part of the lengthy procedure to get state approval for the proposed primary center, which officials argue is necessary to relieve overcrowding in the elementary school, where several mobile classrooms have been set up just outside the school to accommodate the over-capacity student population.

Officials now are proposing that the district purchase 8.45 acres of land adjacent to the rear of the approximately 16 acres on which the elementary school now sits. The land, owned by Alvin and Catherine Jones, is being offered for sale for $240,000, although architect Greer Hayden admitted that its appraised valued was about $51,000.

The costs do not stop there. Hayden's firm calculated the cost of preparing the land to hold the primary center will cost some $1.8 million, most of it to address the steep grade of the property. Of that total, the district could be reimbursed by the state for about $200,000, Hayden said.

Hayden said that the difference in elevation between the elementary school and the primary center would be about 30 feet. Plans call for the primary center to be a two-story building, with the upper floor constituting the "front" of the building accessed via a separate driveway from the front of the elementary school property. Access also would be available from the lower floor at the rear of the building.

Board member Eric Templin said that officials had looked throughout the school district for suitable land, but all parcels turned out to be equally expensive, especially once the cost of additional bus transportation was added. Hayden also noted that the close proximity of the two buildings would be better for the sharing of staff and school buses that is planned.

No one denied that the elementary school is overcrowded, but residents disagreed over how much should be spent to correct the problem in a district that raises property taxes annually, and for the past two years has requested permission from the state to increase millage above the inflation index.

Parents of young children who attend, or who are about to attend, Avonworth Elementary were adamant that the primary center needed to be built, no matter the cost.

David Barkovich, who said his daughter would be a member of the Avonworth Class of 2027, congratulated school officials for thinking ahead and developing schools that attract new residents to the area. That type of thinking needs to continue, he told the board.

"If nothing is done, at some point my daughter will have to get her education in a trailer. That's not acceptable," he said, calling the options that might be considered other than a new building "laughable."

Among those options are proposals to build an addition to the current elementary school, and to move the fifth grade to the underutilized middle school.

Hayden said that building an addition was not a great option because of space limitations due to the congestion of current facilities and the property's terrain.

"We can't build up or out on this infrastructure," said superintendent Dr. Valerie McDonald.

Board member Jeff Schmid said that it would be less expensive, and more feasible, to put the fifth grade class at the middle school, where they would be grouped with sixth graders, while seventh and eighth graders make up another group. That configuration currently exists in the Upper St. Clair School District, Schmid said, which, along with Avonworth, has had its middle school honored with the designation of "Schools to Watch."

Schmid said that the middle school was 30 percent underutilized, while the adjoining high school area was 20 percent underutilized.

Board president Brenda Barlek said that not all areas of the middle/high school were underutilized, citing the cafeteria, gym, and art and music rooms, as well as the need to expand library materials.

McDonald said that bringing fifth graders into the middle school mix would be interfere with all of the practices that have allowed the middle school to be so notable.

"This would completely disrupt the middle school concept," she said, creating instead a "little high school."

"There's no configuration that, I guess, is wrong," Barlek said. "The issue is, how does Avonworth want to do it?"

Some residents questioned whether the enrollment figures at the elementary school would continue to rise, and whether the claims of some parents that many families were moving to the district because of the quality of the schools were making a significant impact on the area's population.

Michael Bett said that although the population in Ohio Township had grown over the last decade, all of the other municipalities continued to lose residents at a significant rate. Furthermore, he said, plans for development in Ohio Township are waning, with only 200 more homes scheduled to be built in the next three years.

"We're getting very close to the end of the boom," Bett said. If the primary center is built, he said, "in 10 years we'll have two underutilized elementary schools.

McDonald said that 2010 U.S. Census figures were not particularly accurate, and that a study commissioned by the district predicted increasing enrollment numbers that the elementary school already had exceeded.

Resident Fran Schmid said that while parents of children entering the elementary school might be willing to pay the additional taxes that would result from such an expensive capital project, the actual burden would be carried by all residents of the district.

"Shame on you for being so selfish," she said.

Other residents questioned two factors that could impact on the district's need for a primary center: the possible mandatory merger of small school districts, and the proposed elimination of full-day kindergarten in order to erase next year's budget deficit.

Although state legislators continue to ponder the question of school consolidation, McDonald said that no mandate from the state currently exists that would require Avonworth to merge with Northgate.

"I want you to be not very worried about merging with Northgate," McDonald said, saying that such a merger would happen "not now, possibly not in the future."

McDonald also said that she "wholeheartedly" supports full-day kindergarten, a popular choice among parents who currently have the option of full- or half-day classes for their children.

Barlek said that the board would continue the discussion about whether to purchase property for a primary center at the work session next Monday. The meeting will be held in the elementary school gym to accommodate increased attendance.