Parkland OKs redistricting; school shake-ups coming

“This isn’t something anybody likes to do. It’s emotional for people.” — Rodney Troutman, Parkland assistant superintendent

School directors unanimously approved Parkland’s plan to redistrict four elementary schools, which will include moving some children from Fogelsville, Cetronia, Jaindl and Parkway Manor to other schools in fall 2020. That’s when the Veterans Elementary School in Upper Macungie Township is expected to open and accept some of the redistricted students.

The news is likely to upset parents, who were unhappy during a 2015 redistricting process and again in October during town hall meetings to discuss the current plan.

Parkland parents did get some good news at the meeting Tuesday, however — the board voted unanimously to keep any potential property tax increase for 2020 to the state’s Act 1 Index of 2.6% or less.

The aim of redistricting is to keep the number of children at each elementary school at roughly 500, to limit class sizes and move students out of portable classrooms. So, for example, Cetronia has about 625 students but under redistricting, enrollment would drop to 510, according to district projections.

When Parkland last redistricted the elementary schools, in 2015, administrators met with lots of unhappy parents who did not want to move their children to other schools.

For next fall, Parkland is excusing about 14 children from moving because their families were affected by the 2015 redistricting, according to Assistant Superintendent Rodney Troutman.

The redistricting is needed to alleviate crowding at the schools in the southern tier of the district and balance class sizes, Troutman said. No changes are proposed for the boundaries of the northern elementary schools — Ironton, Schnecksville, Kernsville and Kratzer — or the boundaries of Springhouse and Orefield middle schools.

Parkland decided to build Veterans Elementary in Upper Macungie, where the district is seeing lots of growth.

In October, Troutman held town hall-style meetings at each of the affected schools: Fogelsville, Cetronia, Jaindl and Parkway Manor — to explain the plan and listen to families’ concerns.

Asked how the town halls went, Troutman said parents whose kids would be sent to a different school next year were unhappy with the plan.

“This isn’t something anybody likes to do,” Troutman said. “It’s emotional for people.”

He said that while parents understand the need to limit class sizes, they don’t want their children to be uprooted from schools where the kids are thriving.

“They’re great parents who care about their kids,” he said.

Superintendent Richard Sniscak said the process was more than a year in the making as administrators looked at enrollment projections and residential developments underway or planned in the district.

“A lot of care and thought and analysis was given to this process not only by Dr. Troutman but our transportation department,” Sniscak said. “There was a great team effort spearheaded by Dr. Troutman’s leadership.”

School Board President Lisa Roth thanked Troutman for all his work on redistricting and also those school directors who attended the town halls.

“That was very important,” Roth said. “We were getting emails, we were getting phone calls and we were at the town hall talking to people. We appreciated the communication that’s happening with all of this.”