Bristol Township School District officials walked into the township council chambers hoping to get preliminary and final land development approval for two new 1,300-student schools at the site of both James Buchanan Elementary School and Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Levittown. Instead, they walked out with preliminary approval for Buchanan and everything they wanted for Emerson.
After a grilling from several members of council, district officials vowed to work out some issues with plans for the Buchanan site and asked to request final approval against at the December 19 meeting. The council said they would review the updated final approval plans at the next meeting.
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Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lee said he is “confident” the project team hired by the district will be able to present plans at the upcoming meeting. School Board President Angela Nober agreed with Lee’s statement.
The new building at the Buchanan site gained only preliminary approval during a 5-0 unanimous vote over of concerns with flooding from a proposed water basin that sits near homes in the Kenwod section. Traffic and pedestrian intersection concerns also lead to hesitation from members of the board. The district agreed to fence in the basin to protect students and also pay a fee to fix Haines Road once the building and Route 13 construction is finished. An agreement to complete additional sidewalk and curbs the area around the school was also struck.
Aside from Councilwoman Amber Longhitano, Emerson’s preliminary and final land development was approved by all council members in attendance. The site had few concerns from township officials.
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Councilman Troy Brennan asked hard questions of the district’s team. At several points he said he had “no confidence” in the crew the district had brought on to do the work. Throughout previous meetings on the proposed new schools project, district officials have touted team they have hired for the massive undertaking.
Fairless Hills resident Barbara Bill said she was “upset” that final approval for the Buchanan site was not made. She echoed district officials’ statements that opening new schools will mean money savings in both operations and staffing.
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“I got my packet on Tuesday,” Longhitano remarked. She added it was not enough time to make “huge decision” on the Buchanan site.
Councilman Rick Pluta called out other council members and said they had previously given preliminary and final approval to plans that were more “open,” noting the Bottom Dollar Food Store plans.
The longer it takes for the schools to be approved, the higher cost for taxpayers, district officials have claimed. The three new schools have a target completion date of September 2016. If students are not in the buildings by them, the schools would not be able to open until the following fall, Nober said.
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Brennan said if he was voting for the new schools for the cash-strapped district on finances alone, he would deny them. Longhitano shook her head in agreement and some members of the audience clapped.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Previous to the council meeting, the district held a Act 34 hearing to close Mary Devine Elementary School in Croydon and building the third proposed state-of-the-art elementary school at the site. The state-mandated meeting at Benjamin Franklin School drew few residents. Eighty three-year-old former district maintenance employee James Tyler, who is against the three new schools, asked why the current schools weren’t kept up.
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The new schools are part of the estimated $152-plus million district-wide facilities overhaul would close the current nine elementary schools and have three 1,300-student buildings constructed in their place. Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School would close, while Neil A. Armstrong Middle School and the former Benjamin Franklin School, currently home to the district administrative staff, would be renovated for middle school students. Harry S. Truman High School would not see any major work done and Clara Barton Elementary School would be re-purposed into the administration and maintenance building.
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