Concerned Neshaminy School District parents and school board members gathered in opposition of the school consolidation plan on Thursday night in Langhorne.
Among parents and teachers, members of the school board Mike Morris and Ron Rudy were in attendance outside Oliver Hackman Elementary School, which would close under the plan along with Samuel Everitt and Lower Southampton elementary schools. Rudy and Morris have both publicly spoken against the plan.
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“We’re trying to see what we can do to stop this,” said Angie Manning, the organizer of the rally.
“I think it is a terrible idea to close the school,” said Joanna Magee. Magee explained that she moved to Langhorne Borough with her husband specifically so her children could attend Oliver Heckman Elementary.
Nicole Lackey, a parent of students in the district, noted: “I don’t want our kids to be a litmus test in 20 years when they decide that this was not the best option.” “It’s a community and we lost it somehow.”
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The sense of urgency was touched upon by concerned parents in attendance. “It’s like they wont even explore other possibilities, why does it have to happen so quickly,” asked Stacy Sloskey.
“They’re supposed to represent the people who elect them, it is very frustrating,” vented Sloskey.
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Residents who live near Oliver Heckman and Samuel Everitt Elementary School have been vocal at recent board meeting. They have spoken out about the proposed closings and, construction of a new 900-student elementary school at the Tawanka site in Lower Southampton and moving fifth grade to the district’s middle schools.
“The mission here is to join the rest of the community, not close schools, and not move fifth grade up,” Morris said.
Rudy also expressed misgivings in reference to the consolidation plan.
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The rally at Oliver Heckman comes roughly a week after a similar rally at Samuel Everitt was held in Levittown.
The next meeting regarding the fifth grade to middle school plan is taking place on Tuesday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m. It will be a presentation of the 5-8 model at the Board of Education Development Committee meeting held in the board room at Maple Point Middle School.
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Related:
- Public Asks Neshaminy to Reconsider Consolidation & Fifth Grade Move to the Middle School
- Neshaminy Residents Against Proposed Consolidation Plan Meet in Levittown
- Neshaminy Consolidation Plan is Met with Extreme Resistance
- Neshaminy Gets First Look at Preliminary Plan for New Elementary School
- Neshaminy Residents Plan to Fight Potential School Closings
- Neshaminy Board Hears Updates on Consolidation Plan
- Neshaminy Approves ‘Preliminary Roadmap,’ Which Includes School Closing Possibility
LevittownNow.com Publisher/Editor Tom Sofield contributed to this report
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