The consolidation debate in the Neshaminy School District is far from over.
The school board of nine voted 8-1 to cancel the hearing on the proposed closing of Walter Miller Elementary School recently – but that doesn’t mean closing Walter Miller or other schools in the district is off the table altogether.
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Board member Steve Pirritano, who heads the ad hoc committee that recommended closing Walter Miller, said closings schools and renovating buildings are all still on the table. It’s an option the district can’t look past.
The Lower Southampton resident said the district will be taking a step back after voting to hold off on closing a school this year and moving fifth-grade to the middle school and evaluate all their options.
“We have a problem to solve,” he said, adding that more time will allow the administration and board to find a way to consolidate “the right way.”
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Board member Mike Morris of Levittown said recently he agrees there is a problem to be solved in regards to consolidation.
“We’re kicking the can down the road,” he told LevittownNow.com. He added that the district has been talking about consolidation for years and something needs to be done – and soon.
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Morris has been vocal at recent meetings about how the consolidation process has been handled. He recently said the announcement that the ad hoc committee’s closure recommendation would be announced was thrown on the board during the meeting. His comments were seemly backed up during a recent school board meeting when board member Irene Boyle said the same thing and raised concerns there was little to no prior discussion.
Pirritano said the committee, which also featured board members Ron Rudy and Anthony Sposato, reviewed data and talked to administrators before coming to their recommendation. He said one reason everything seemed so rushed was the delay is receiving a demographics study, the weather and amount of time needed to close a school for next year.
School Board President Scott Congdon said recently the many steps that needed to be taken to close an elementary school by would be “tight.”
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Morris said recently he plans to present data that contradicts some projection presented by the ad hoc committee. The district has had several studies done in the past few years to tackle the issue of consolidation and enrollment.
While Morris is against closing a Levittown school like Walter Miller unless more time is spent reviewing the options like renovating buildings, he said there needs to be a proper amount of time to review all the options.
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Morris has pointed out numerous times during and after meetings that something needs to be done to consolidate the district to right the financial ship but was concerned schools in the Levittown area were being targeted. He also said he feels the most recent recommendation by the ad hoc committee to close Walter Miller was presented to the full board with little advance notice.
Morris is not alone. At recent meetings, residents have cheered him on when he has publicly raised concerns.
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Here’s a map that shows all of the Neshaminy elementary schools:
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Along with the motion to table the consolidation, the board also voted to delay a plan to move the fifth grade to middle schools. The plan has proven controversial with parents.
Superintendent Robert Copeland and Congdon said at a recent board meeting that they are continuing to explore the middle school plan and will keep parents involved in the process, which would free up room in the elementary schools and fill empty seats in the middle schools.
Despite rumbling in the community that a plan to close schools is a “done deal,” the process rolls on and no official decision has been voted on by the board.
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The next public school board meeting is Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. in the district offices.
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