The former Friendship House on East Mountain will now be a part of the district’s Monticello Program.

SCRANTON, Pa. — The Scranton School District is expanding.

Earlier this month, in a 7–2 vote, the school board approved the purchase of the former Friendship House building along the 1500 block of Maple Street on East Mountain.

School Board President Tom Borthwick says the decision comes as the district looks to address its growing special education needs.

“Particularly, the autistic and special needs population has been growing,” said Borthwick. “This year alone, we added 11 autistic support classes. Last year, I believe the number was 16, so in two years, you’ve seen explosive growth. This has necessitated our efforts to find new space.”

Speaking with Newswatch 16 at the district’s administrative office, Borthwick says the building will be purchased for $ 2.5 million.

He says the former Friendship House facility will be an easy transition for the district.

“The ability to get a building that already did what we needed it to do means that whatever kind of investment we need to put into the building will be a lot better than doing something from the ground up,” said Borthwick.

Superintendent Dr. Erin Keating spoke with Newswatch 16 over the phone.

She says the move will not cut any special education programs and will build on what the district already has in place.

“There are very strict regulations under Chapter 14 that look at how many students, based upon their disability, can be in a classroom. So we need to make sure that all of our classrooms are equipped the right way to meet those full-time classroom supports to give kids exactly what they need,” said Keating.

Borthwick says the turnkey building should be ready to welcome students come next school year.

“We are equipped a lot better than smaller districts to handle the needs of these students,” said Keating. “So it makes sense if you’re a parent and you want to make sure that your child has the best, you come to a district that’s equipped for it.”

The sale of the Friendship House is expected to be finalized sometime next month.