The Scranton School District wants to buy the former Penn Foster building — and is prepared to take it by eminent domain if necessary.
Scranton school directors voted 7-2 Monday night to allow the district to use legal power to purchase the property for $2.2 million, its appraised value.
As the district faces a surge in special education students and stable enrollment — and not declining as previously predicted — the district needs more room.
“We are at a dramatic space crisis,” Superintendent Erin Keating said.
The district could use the 85,000-square-foot building, located on about 16 acres in North Scranton, for special education classrooms, pre-kindergarten, early intervention or even an elementary school, leaders said.
“We need this urgently. We need this yesterday,” said Larry Moran Jr., district solicitor. “There is a legitimate public purpose, and we need this building.”
Under eminent domain, a government can seize private property and convert it into public use, even if the owner does not want to sell. The district and 925 Oak LLC, which purchased the building from Penn Foster in 2024 for $2.2 million, have been unable to agree on terms of a sale.
In deed documents, 925 Oak is connected to Lahak Hanochos Inc., a Brooklyn-based publishing company of Hebrew texts. Attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful Monday.
Special education growing
The possible purchase of the Penn Foster property comes several years after the district considered consolidating and closing buildings.
The school board voted to close Bancroft Elementary in 2021 and looked at several plans to close additional buildings. Reopening Bancroft could cost as much as $18 million, according to the latest estimates.
School directors hired Harrisburg-based McKissick Associates in 2023 to study enrollment, boundaries and building use. The firm predicted enrollment could drop to 8,269 by 2032, and reported that total facility usage in the district was about 55.3%.
Enrollment remains steady at about 9,200 students, whose needs grow each year. The district now has 57 autistic support classrooms. Keating, who became superintendent in 2024, has opened eight to 10 school-based autistic support classrooms in the last three school years.
The district opened the Jim Connors Learning Center at Monticello East for this school year, providing autistic-support classrooms for early elementary students.
A ‘unicorn’ building
Moran called the building a “unicorn” in the city, with space that can be adapted for many uses. The building could be ready for students six months after purchase, officials said.
Directors Carol Cleary and Catherine Fox voted against pursuing the purchase through eminent domain at this time, citing a need for more information and clarity. Neither is against purchasing the property in the future, they said.
“I understand that we have space concerns, and I want to make sure all of our students and staff have places to go,” Fox said. “I want to make sure that we do things legally and the right way because it's not my money. It's taxpayer money.”
With the 7-2 vote, the board authorized Moran to prepare and file a Declaration of Taking in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County and to take all actions necessary to acquire the property.
Pennsylvania School Code allows a district to use eminent domain when a school board and property owner cannot agree on the terms of a purchase. The property must be used for school purposes.
