Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A large number of Bristol Township residents are expected at the school board meeting Monday night to voice their concern over the possible sale of some of the district’s closed school buildings.
Residents talked to their neighbors, posted on social media and sent electronic and paper fliers over the weekend to encourage them to attend Monday’s school board meeting. The meeting will happen at 7:30 p.m. at the old Benjamin Franklin School along Mill Creek Road.
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The school board recently received a letter, which was first reported by the Bucks County Courier Times, from Bensalem-based Progressive Living Units and Systems of Pennsylvania Inc. (PLUS). The company said they had interest in purchasing the shuttered John Fitch, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Lafayette elementary school properties for $1.75 million.
LevittownNow.com has since obtained a copy of the letter that stated PLUS has shown interest for “age restricted housing or for uses related to the business of providing behavioral health services, both residential and non-residential, and including, without limitation, services to veterans, persons suffering from traumatic brain injuries and other handicapped persons as defined in the Fair Housing Act.”
PLUS appears to be connected to Middletown-based Daybreak Treatment Solutions, which states online that they help clients overcome “struggles with addiction.”
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School board officials confirmed late last month to this news organization the contents of the letter and the $1.75 million offer.
Many residents were already upset when the district received previous offers for John Fitch, Abraham Lincoln, Maple Shade and Lafayette elementary schools. However, those offers included 55-plus housing and possible low-incoming units for seniors in Croydon.
The latest offer has rankled many residents and caused concerns that large institutionalized recovery facilities could be constructed in their neighborhoods, many already having numerous recovery homes.
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Sources have said the district has shown some concern over the offers and the future of the school sites. However, once the properties are sold, the district has no control over what happens to them.
The seemingly low sale price for the large properties is related to demolition and hazardous material abatement that would need to go along with each building.
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The Clara Barton Elementary School site is slated to become the district’s new administration, maintenance and transportation hub, utilizing its central location along Green Lane.
If the district moves forward with selling any of the five school properties, the will have to get the sales approved by the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
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