Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Officials from the Neshaminy School District are set to attend public three meetings organized by the public on the topic of school consolidation.
- Monday, May 20 – Samuel Everitt Elementary, Levittown
- Wednesday, May 29 – Oliver Heckman Elementary, Langhorne
- Thursday, May 30 – Lower Southampton Elementary, Lower Southampton
The three meetings all begin at 7 p.m.
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Middletown resident Angie Manning organized the meetings.
Manning, a public school teacher in Chesterfield, N.J., was on a 12-person taxpayer committee that reviewed school consultation in late 2012. She and Ed Kern, a retired teacher, voted against closing Everitt, Heckman and Lower Southampton.
The district is looking to downsize due because of budget concerns, decreasing enrollment and maintenance concerns.
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The much talked about plan includes construction of a large elementary school that could house a maximum of 1,2000 students at the Tawanka Learning Center site on Brownsville Road in Lower Southampton, a large addition to Pearl S. Buck Elementary School and renovations to the remaining buildings.
The district plans to pay for the new school plan with just over $50 million in bonds.
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Critics cite concerns about teaching 1,200 students in the new building.
“I want the best for my kids,” Manning said. “I’m concerned about the large school model.”
The parent of two elementary students said she has concerns that closing Everitt and Heckman would leave the northern portion of the district without local schools.
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Residents around Samuel Everitt have voiced concerns previously about closing the neighborhood school. Many have also spoken out about what could happen to the building if the school is closed.
Manning said she has concerns about busing her kids from Langhorne to a new facility in Lower Southampton, which is at the other end of the school district. Manning lost one of her students in a bus crash last year.
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School Board President Richie Webb and Superintendent Robert Copeland along with additional members of the board and administration are expected to attend Monday night’s meeting at Everitt.
