Leaking roofs. Cramped common areas. Doorways and water fountains with no wheelchair access. Those are just of few of the structural issues that architects said they've seen at Middletown Area High School, built in 1962 and last renovated in 2001. In July, the school board authorized architects Crabtree and Rorhbaugh of Mechanicsburg to update a feasibility study that the firm compiled for the district in 2008. On Aug. 27, the school board gave architects the go-ahead to prepare a project justification to the state Department of Education for building a high school. View full size SEAN SIMMERS, The Patriot-News, 2006 Middletown Area High School District officials have no plans to replace the 50-year-old structure, but said they want to "get our foot in the door" before a moratorium affecting state aid for school construction projects goes into effect Oct. 2. Projects accepted by the state before that date aren't affected by the legislation. Although the moratorium is tentatively scheduled to end on June 30, state lawmakers can extend it. Architect Rick LeBlanc told the school board that it would cost about $44 million to build a school and demolish the current high school, about $3 million less than it would cost to renovate the facility. Renovating the high school would cost more than new construction because all of the building's systems need to be replaced, LeBlanc noted. The district is "financially in a good position to do something" as it will be debt-free in 10 years, with its debt load