Plan calls for closing three schools, building new one

NESHAMfNY -A specially-empaneled citizens advisory committee has formally presented its plan to the Neshaminy school board which calls for closing three elementary schools and constructing a new one.

At the Jan. 8 school board meeting where the plan was outlined, a number of residents called for a public referendum to address the issue instead of the board members deciding the fate of those schools.

Pete Spera, a resident appointed to the advisory committee, made the presentation to the board. ft calls for closing the Samuel Everitt, Oliver Heckman and Lower Southampton elementary schools, and building a large addition on the Pearl S. Buck Elementary School to handle up to 885 students.

fmprovements would also be made to the Neshaminy’s other elementary schools.

rnder the recommendations, which the advisory panel overwhelmingly approved in a vote last month, a new $34.7-million elementary school would be built on the 15-acre Tawanka site, located along Brownsville Road near Bristol Road in the southern-end of the district. The site is currently leased to the Bucks County fntermediate rnit.

According to Spera, one of the main reasons for recommending closing the schools is the district’s overall declining enrollment which has led to buildings being underused.

“fn 1992, our district had 5,569 students in K-5, in 2012 we had 3,375,” he explained, “that’s a reduction of 33 percent and we still have the exact same buildings.”

He noted that by 2018, enrollment expectations for grades K-5 will drop another 320 stuGHQWs, DERuW HLJKW SHUFHQW RI FuUUHQW fiJuUHs.

“Only 73 percent of our buildings are being utilized,” he said. “fn business if your manufacturing facility is only being utilized by 73 percent, you’re losing money.”

Spera pointed out that the district has earPDUNHG $43 PLOOLRQ IRU D fiYH-yHDU SODQ WR upgrade and repair Neshaminy’s current eight elementary, three middle and one high school.

“We’re going to spend $43 million and still have underutilized buildings,” he asserted.

Spera told the school board that the savings netted from consolidation will save the district about $2 million a year. However, he urged that the money should be put back into educational SURJUDPs, DQG QRW EH usHG WR WULP EuGJHW GHficits.

“We should give that money to the superintendent and say ‘put together a wish list,’” Spera advised.

fn addition, he said that any money generated from selling closed facilities should be used for educational programs.

“Our objective is to make students fully comfortable in a larger school,” he maintained.

Some of the advisory committee’s recommendations for spending the money saved by consolidation include: full-day Kindergarten; restoring languages and physical education; increasing the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum; increasing the graduation requirements, and fiOOLQJ YDFDQW JuLGDQFH FRuQsHORU DQG sRFLDO worker positions.

However, the advisory committee’s report also detailed several ongoing concerns that residents already have voiced if the three schools are closed and a new one built, such as: increased school and class sizes, longer bus rides for students and selling the school buildings which are closed.

After the presentation, which lasted about 15 minutes, School Board President Ritchie Webb said that the board will now study the report before a decision is made how to proceed.

Several of the public comments at the meeting implored the school board to not decide the issue itself, but to put the consolidation and construction question on the ballot for voters to choose.

Charles Alfonso of Langhorne, who supports a referendum, admonished the school board, claiming that it is “ramming down our throats a consolidation and building plan.

“The board lacks the moral authority to make a $50 million decision without public input,” he declared. “We owe it to Neshaminy students.”

Retired teacher, Ed Kern of Levittown, said that he supports smaller elementary schools.

“This plan will create super-sized elementary schools and will change the face of the district,” he warned, “we should use the funds to bring all of the schools up to date.”

“This is an educational setting, not an assembly line,” added Kern.

Carla nuinlisk of Langhorne, an associate professor of applied linguistics at Penn StateAbington, urged the school board to “take a critical look at the presentation.

“This is not purely a business decision,” she said, “do not just look at consolidation based on the numbers.”

nuinlisk complained that she is losing interest in living in the Neshaminy School District because “we’re letting our schools deteriorate.”

However, several residents voiced support of the consolidation plan, and objected to the call for a public referendum.

ceasterville’s Steve Pirritano said that everyone wants to have a school in the backyard, “especially an elementary school.”

According to Pirritano, closing three schools will improve every level of education, not just K-5.

“We cannot sit by and watch millions of dollars spent on building that are underutilized,” he cautioned.

School board member Anthony Sposato also supports the consolidation effort.

“Let’s be real, we got to make some changes,” he said. “ft doesn’t make sense to put buildings ahead of educational programs.

“We have a moral responsibility to make the best decision,” Sposato added. But at the same time he cautioned, “We have to be sensitive about the size of classes.”

Meanwhile, school board president Webb indicated that if there is a ballot question that it cannot list the individual schools to be closed, RQOy LI WKH GLsWULFW sKRuOG FORsH EuLOGLQJs IRU financial reasons.

rnder state law, if the board chooses to close schools, or build a new one, public hearings must be held.