Jul 24, 2015 2 min read

If everything continues to go as planned, then work on the long-awaited $34 million expansion of South Fayette High School could begin early next year.

On Thursday, the South Fayette Township planning commission unanimously approved a preliminary site plan that will give the cramped high school more room. The plan goes before the township board of commissioners for final approval at the Aug. 12 meeting.

Approximately 800 students are currently enrolled at South Fayette High School. The school was built in 2003 and is expected to reach its capacity this year. And by 2023, enrollment could be as high as 1,068, according to a study done two years ago by Carnegie Mellon University.

“South Fayette averages 100 new students a year and it presents a challenge,” said Bille Rondinelli, superintendent of South Fayette Township School District, adding that the high school was constructed in a way that additions can be made. “Our enrollment growth keeps continuing.”

District officials have been examining the space issue at the high school for several years now. While plans are still preliminary, the proposed expansion would include more classroom space, as well as a fine arts center, according to plans the district shared during the planning commission meeting. No lots, roads or driveways at the Old Oakdale Road site would be reconstructed and the only repaving that would take place would be for maintenance, district officials said. The expansion project would take more than two years to complete. P.J. Dick of Pittsburgh is the project’s general contractor.