Neshaminy Approves Moving 5th Grade To Middle Schools

“You’re ruining our kids’ lives!”

Those were the words one parent yelled at the Neshaminy School Board following a vote to approve a plan to reconfigure the district by moving fifth-graders to the middle schools.

The plan, which was frequently slammed during public comment at recent board meetings, was approved 6-3. Board members Irene Boyle, Mike Morris and Ron Rudy were the three dissenting votes.

Now that the plan has been approved, it will be implemented starting in September.

District officials recently outlined their plan to get ready if the board approved the reconfiguration. The presentation detailed a timeline as to what would have to be in place by each date.

The plan was designed to take advantage of extra classroom space in the district’s three middle schools. The vote was needed before the district could  move forward on a proposal to consolidate closing three elementary schools – Samuel Everitt, Oliver Heckman and Lower Southampton elementary schools – and build a new 800-student elementary facility at the Tawanka site in Lower Southampton.

The meeting packed the auditorium of Maple Point Middle School with at least 250 taxpayers.

“I just don’t know what to make of this – two of the members making this decision tonight were appointed, not elected,” Langhorne resident Eugene Sonn said after the vote.

Levittown resident Michele McIntyre, who is a psychologist, spoke during public comment and said she was initially against the plan, but her stance softened over time. She told the board she was concerned over the “lack of detail” laid out in the fifth grade reconfiguration plan laid out to parents.

“To my surprise, my position on the issue has softened since then … my chief concern now is that if we move in that direction that we get it right,” she said.

“With all due respect, my children aren’t some cost-saving maneuver to fiddle around with.”

Jeanette McVeigh of Levittown also echoed similar concerns.

“The biggest problem I have with this is the timeline. There is obviously a lot more work that should be done,” she said before questioning if there was a contingency plan for the program.

The audience remained quiet at the beginning of the meeting, but things slowly deteriorated after the vote.

Levittown resident Robert Sanna yelled at the board and said if a fifth-grader gets bullied at the middle school, it’s the school board’s fault. A district security guard talked to Sanna after his microphone was shut off.

Those against the plan raised bullying, maturity and drug influences as some of their chief concerns about moving the fifth-graders to the middle schools.

Other residents told the board the fifth graders would be too young to be in the same school as eight graders. Some residents even suggested moving the ninth grade back down to the middle schools.

Among the dozens of people that spoke during public comment, not all were against the reconfiguration plan.

“If we keep our focus on education, our kids will be fine,” Middletown resident Deb Harker said. She added that she went to school in a fifth through eight grade school and the placement seems normal to her.

Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT) President Tara Huber, who spoke against the plan, told the board she was offering the support of the teaching staff to help the district smoothly implement the reconfiguration.

While many spoke at public comment about the proposed closings of three elementary schools, that topic was not on the agenda and will be voted on at a future board meeting.

Related:

• Survey Says… NFT Members Against Neshaminy Consolidation, Grade Shuffle Plan
• 3 Neshaminy Board Members Speak Out Against Consolidation, Moving 5th Graders to Middle School
• Neshaminy Consolidation Plan Opposed at Save Oliver Heckman Elementary School Rally
• 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

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