Parkland High School broke ground Friday on an 84,914-square-foot addition that is the centerpiece of a $68 million renovation that will add classrooms, renovate common spaces and alleviate crowded hallways.
The project is expected to be done by December 2027 and will include 30 new classrooms, 16 new science and arts labs, two enclosed, outdoor courtyards, a renovated media center and cafeteria, and a new athletics entrance and lobby.
Parkland senior and student-athlete Sarah Paugh said she was particularly excited for the new athletics entrance. Walking through the cafeteria to access the gym can be confusing for parents and spectators, Paugh said, adding that the new entrance should produce “more enthusiasm and excitement.”
Initial expansion designs also included a new stadium, but those plans have been postponed. The district currently does not have a timeline for when that part of the project might be added, district spokesperson Nicole McGalla told The Morning Call. As the project progresses, the district is posting updated budgets and timelines on its website.
Parkland High School’s current building opened in 1999, and several Parkland graduates who spoke at Friday’s groundbreaking said they’re excited to see their family companies again partner with the district for its construction needs.
Michael Butz, general manager of Alvin H. Butz Inc. and a 2007 graduate, said his involvement with the 1999 project was limited to being perhaps the first person to jump in the pool, but he’s now “anxious to get started” on the new construction, which will begin Monday.
Victor Padilla, CFO of Eshbach Masonry and a 2015 graduate, said he was only 2 years old during the 1999 project, but he has fond memories of the building, saying, “I felt seen coming to this school.”
Jamie Bortz, senior project manager at Alloy5 Architecture and a 2007 graduate , said it’s been “surreal and incredibly meaningful” to have her son start kindergarten in the district. She reminisced about being a sixth grader living through the renovations at Orefield Middle School and said she hopes current Parkland High students also learn to appreciate short-term inconvenience that brings long-term improvement.
As a high school student, Bortz said she remembers running from the gym to architecture class through crowded hallways. The new design will improve circulation, she said, adding that will mean “hopefully less elbows to the head for students like me.”
The school’s four-minute passing periods have only grown more crowded, current freshman Rishi Ponda said, calling the addition of new routes to cross campus a necessary change.
Ponda said he’s most excited for planned new study spaces inside the renovated media center. He envisions the glass-walled rooms as a space where students can collaborate and practice presentations.
Overall, the expansion and renovation is “just going to help a lot with comfort, more than anything,” Ponda said.
In 1999, the high school enrolled 2,325 students. The current student population is more than 3,200.
Principal Nathan Davidson celebrated the district’s “commitment to investing in the next generation” and said the new lab space would provide “dynamic environments designed to spark creativity, encourage exploration, and prepare students for the careers of tomorrow.”
Parkland School District Superintendent Mark Madson thanked students and community partners for participating in the design process.
“It takes an entire community to do what we do in the Parkland School District,” Madson said, “and it will be no different for this project.”
A South Whitehall Township Planning Commission engineering review in January 2025 focused on traffic and pedestrian impacts. The project includes expanded parking and a new bus loop. See the review documents below: