Seneca Valley School District’s proposed intermediate high school renovation and performing arts center could be one of the most costly building projects in Butler County history. The price tag, around $165 million is one of several issues that has created disagreements within the district community.

Comparatively, Knoch School District renovated its high school for $39 million. Slippery Rock Area School District is currently renovating theirs for $29 million.

Beyond schools and publicly-funded projects, the Seneca Valley project dwarfs even the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, which was completed in 2015 for around $70 million in 2015; and the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Center, completed in 2017 for roughly $68 million.

A petition on change.org has gathered over 400 signatures as of Friday evening, asking the school board to postpone its final decision on the renovation.

“This decision threatens to add a burden of $156 million of new debt to an already massive $97 million debt load, making it the highest in Butler County, Pennsylvania,” the petition, created by Chester Jack, said. “The cost of this project, if approved, will fall heavily on the shoulders of average Seneca Valley households. Residents will see tax increases at a time when economic stability is crucial for families. We must stop and assess whether this project truly serves the best interests of our citizens and students.”

The petition is going around weeks after a group of residents spoke out against the project at a Sept. 8 hearing when it was officially presented to the public. Around 50 people showed up to the hearing.

“I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m saying, just make sure we do our due diligence to justify this kind of project. Consider the millages. Engage demographers who come up with a growth model for the county, see what they have to say,” Jack said.

The hearing was mandated under Act 34, a state law that requires projects of a certain scope to set cost limits. Seneca Valley’s school board approved its $165.81 million cost limit in the weeks leading up to the hearing.

The proposed renovation includes a new three-story structure with 39 classrooms, as well as a new performing arts center. The renovation would connect the senior and intermediate high school buildings while demolishing part of the existing intermediate high school.

The board has argued the project is part of its efforts to focus on short-term and long-term needs of the district. Board President Eric DiTullio previously said the district expects a 10% growth in the size of the student body over the next decade.

The district’s communities combined have gained several thousand new residents since 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

DiTullio claimed district communities have seen 5,989 homes approved to be built since 2021. He said the district also knows “more development is coming” to neighborhoods like Jackson Township.

“Those 5,989 homes, even using the low national average of 1.6 children per household, would be 9,852 new children to the district. Assuming that these children would be spread out over 15 years, that would be an influx of 400 new students per year,” DiTullio said in a text message. “We have multiple demographers’ studies that were done as part of the feasibility studies which show that we’ll have 150 to 200 new students in the next 5 to 7 years.”

One of the main complaints people had at the meeting is the amount of debt Seneca Valley would have to pay off. According to Act 34 documents provided by Seneca Valley School District, total debt service on the project will be roughly $275 million. Annual payments for the district would last through 2046.

The total millage impact on taxpayers from the project, according to Act 34 documents, would be 11.43 mills.

Other concerns of the project’s critics include the impact on individual taxpayers, particularly those who have lower incomes, as well as questioning whether population growth projections warrant a project of this size.

“People are genuinely concerned about the size of the project. It is unquestionably the largest public project in Butler’s history,” Jack McMillan, a former Butler County controller who spoke at the hearing, said.

DiTullio said there are almost 4,000 homes that remain to be completed from already approved projects which will be able to generate additional tax revenue.

“If we assume that these new houses are only 80% of the median value of the district houses, which would be equivalent to a $320,000 house, that would generate an additional $11.9 million in annual revenue,” DiTullio said. “We know there are other developments being proposed that have not been approved, especially in Jackson Township. They’ve approved 885 houses per the last newsletter that are not all reflected in the numbers above.”

DiTullio claimed without a tax increase in the next few years, the district will still see a $12 million increase in annual revenue with the real estate development that has already been approved by the district’s municipalities.

DiTullio also criticized others for what he viewed as spreading disinformation surrounding the proposed renovation.

“Argue merits of the project, fine. Don’t lie to people. There’s a handful of people spreading that fear, lying, and that scares me. Why would they do that?” DiTullio said. “We’ve been planning this for a long time. We didn’t do this in a day. We spent a two year process doing it.”