Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The future of a recently-closed elementary school remains up in the air.
Late last week, Oliver Heckman Elementary School in Langhorne closed to students. While some boxes and pieces of equipment still need to be moved, the district is preparing to close the building until its future is shored up. The school that sits on 18-acres was closed last week as part of the Neshaminy School District’s plan to consolidate elementary buildings to save money.
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District spokesman Chris Stanley said Neshaminy is “pursuing a possible lease agreement, but nothing has been officially proposed or signed as of yet.”
Over the summer and/or until any lease agreement is reached, the district will continue to maintain the building and provide security to the school that sits on Cherry Street and was built in 1966.
Earlier this year, the school district moved forward with closing the building, citing the cost to operate, declining enrollment and the construction of a new elementary school at the Tawanka site in Lower Southampton.
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“Oliver Heckman Elementary School would require significant investment in renovation to bring it up to modern standards of efficiency, comfort and safety should it remain open,” a district school closing hearing packet said.
The school had 381 students last year and needed an expensive renovation, according to district officials.
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Many parents and Langhorne residents came out to speak against closing the neighborhood school.
Lower Southampton Elementary School was also closed by Neshaminy this year as part of the consolidation plan that closed Heckman. On Tuesday evening, the school board approved a move that would allow the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) to look at the Lower Southampton school for a possible lease, similar to deal the district has with the BCIU at the closed Samuel Everitt Elementary School facility in Middletown’s Levittown section.
Stanley said more information on the future of the Heckman property could be announced in the coming weeks.
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