Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Neshaminy School Board members Mike Morris and William Oettinger took time Wednesday evening to meet with the Gates Watch community group at Levittown Christian Church in Middletown.
The issue that dominated the majority of the meeting, which was attended by the residents of the Forsythia Gate, Red Rose Gate and Snowball Gate neighborhoods, was school consolidations and the possible closing of Samuel Everitt Elementary School in Forsythia Gate.
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Morris, who represents the neighborhoods on the board, said a elementary school each of the district’s three voting region was selected.
“The fact is one school has to close,” he said. “There is an underutilization of the buildings.”
Schools that could be closed:
- Samuel Everitt, Levittown section of Middletown
- Oliver Heckman, Langhorne section of Middletown
- Lower Southampton, Feasterville section of Lower Southampton
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Morris and Oettinger, a representative on the school consolidation committee, said closing three older elementary schools and building a larger, more regional building in Lower Southampton would save the district $50 million over the coming decades and provide a “better learning environment for the kids.”
Residents questioned what would happened with the Forsythia Gate school if it is closed.
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Oettinger said the district is in talks with the Bucks Intermediate Unit to possibly occupy the school building.
Morris said the board will be holding public hearings on the issue in the coming months.
Another issue talked about was the 201 side agreements, also known as memorandums of understanding, which have made news in recent weeks.
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The board has claimed in the recent weeks they were unaware of a large majority of the 201 existing contract agreements.
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Morris said at the meeting the board is looking to see how they can have more oversight in future side agreements.
