Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Transportation appeared to be one of the largest issues raised by parents of Oliver Heckman Elementary School students at a community meeting held about proposed Neshaminy School District building consolidation.
Parents and community members asked district officials Wednesday evening about how much longer the commute between Heckman and the proposed new 1,200-student elementary center at the Tawanka Learning Center site on Brownsville Road in Lower Southampton.
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Facilities and Operations Director Paul Minotti told the gathered taxpayers that he drove a school bus from the the further place students would be traveling from to the Tawanka site. He said the drive happened at 8:25 a.m. and only took 10 minutes longer than a bus ride from the same location to Heckman.
Many parents objected to Minotti’s statement. Angie Manning said the commute was much longer, according to her research.
Some residents asked why the district could not just add-on to Heckman. One man said the school’s large back acreage is a benefit for an addition or construction of a new school.
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School Board member Scott Congdon said building a new school at the site would be difficult unless you knocked down the current building. He then asked where the displaced students would go while construction progressed.
Maria Shinkunas, a Neshaminy parent and teacher in an area school district, voiced concerns about sending her kids to a 1,200-student school. She also was worried about property values.
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Assistant Superintendent Jacqueline Rattigan told Shinkunas to look toward performance at Central Bucks School District’s large population schools to judge.
The school district is looking at a plan that will close Samuel Everitt, Oliver Heckman and Lower Southampton elementary schools in favor of a $35 million “super” school at the Tawanka site. A large addition to Pearl S. Buck Elementary School in Middletown and needed renovations to the remaining buildings would round out the $50 million project. If the plan goes forward, redistricting would be necessary.
Minotti echoed what school board President Richie Webb told residents at a meeting on the subject last week. No final decisions have been made and public hearings are being scheduled for the fall.
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