NEEDS ASSESSED
Tax impact ranked last in district facility survey
PERKIOMEN >> When a group of more than 100 residents of the Perkiomen Valley School District was asked to rank priorities regarding school facilities, minimizing tax impact came in dead last.
Instead, maintaining small class size and equity of instructional opportunity were the two top priorities identified among 10 by the more than 100 people who attended a special Perkiomen Valley School District meeting about facilities — with a particular focus on South Elementary School.
Driving public interest in the issue is the possibility of South Elementary School being closed; or renovated; or replaced and all the ripples of district-wide impact that decision will send out into the greater school community.
It all began this summer when air quality tests revealed mold spores in classrooms.
The ensuing cleanup spurred a discussion about the future of the school, the district’s oldest, built in 1955 with an addition added in 1995.
Options floated so far have included repairing and upgrading the building; building a new South Elementary School; redistricting elementary students among the remaining three elementary schools; or even changing the configuration of the schools to make 5/6 and 7/8 grade centers
at the district’s two middle schools.
Each choice comes with its own set of challenges, pros and cons and, of course, costs.
The district has held a number of public meetings on the matter. And after more than 300 people volunteered to be part of a steering committee, the administration shifted gears and invited everyone to last night’s meeting to attempt to set a foundation for decision making.
Divided up into tables of eight people, each with a “facilitator” who was either an administrator or school board member, Superintendent Barbara Russell walked the crowd through the basics of how the district got to this point.
Then the group was charged with taking an electronic survey asking them to rank their priorities to “define a values framework for reviewing current facility options.”
The results were immediately available and the clear top priority was class size, followed by ensuring consistency and equity in educational program.
Coming in third was limiting the number of building transitions; closely followed by providing students with modern resources; providing staff with the resources they need; maintaining a maximum bus ride of 45 minutes; enhancing resources for special education and extra curricular activities in that order.
Minimizing tax impact was “rated as least important by 65 percent of you,” Russell said.
It should be noted that the residents listed their municipality and the largest number of those at the meeting live in Collegeville and Trappe boroughs, which is the attendance area for South Elementary School.
Residents of Schwenksvuille and Lower Frederick made up the lowest percentage of the audience.
One resident asked Russell if the same priorities survey could be offered to the entire district, and she said it is definitely something the district would consider.
She told the residents that an engineering and architecture firm had undertaken a “Master Facilities” study that will be unveiled at the next school board work session meeting on Dec. 3.
A second “South Elementary Feasibility Study” has also been undertaken, but will not be ready by that meeting, she said.