Charter School Looks At ‘Possible Options’ After Denial Vote By Neshaminy

Last week, the Neshaminy School Board voted down the MaST-Neshaminy Charter School proposal that was in front of them.

The vote to deny the charter school’s proposal to open in the district passed 8-0. Board member John Allen was absent.

School board members and their solicitor said the application submitted by MaST-Neshaminy was “incomplete.” School Board President Marty Sullivan claimed the application was deficient in 16 of 17 areas.

MaST CEO John Swoyer told LevittownNow.com the application was not signed because they were asking the district to allow them to change the listed location of the facility on the paperwork.

The school board used the fact that MaST representatives did not sign the charter as reasoning to handle it as a whole new application.

MaST-Neshaminy has been working to open a kindergarten through 12th grade charter school inside the borders of the Neshaminy School District since 2012. Over the years, MaST-Neshaminy has looked at numerous locations, including at Wheeler Court, closed elementary schools, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Middletown. However, many of the buildings considered over the years are no longer available due to the years that have passed and that a new location has to be approved by Neshaminy.

MaST officials said earlier this year that they have a $9.6 million letter of intent to purchase the Sears store at the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown and construct their own facility. Developer John Parsons of BSI Construction has been lined up to start work on converting the mall to a charter school.

While there have been no plans announced to close the chain store, it was assumed the Sears would close if MaST-Neshaminy received the green light from the district.

With the application being rejected by the district, MaST-Neshaminy will have to look for a new location for their proposed charter school or file an appeal.

“We are looking into possible options,” Swoyer said.

While there has been support for MaST-Neshaminy by, at times, relatively large groups of district parents, the majority of the current and recent school boards have been mainly opposed to the charter school coming to the district.

At recent meetings, opponents of Mast-Neshaminy have raised concerns about the charter school being located so close to a mall that is open to the public.

MaST focuses their efforts on math, science, and technology, offering unique educational experiences to its students. Currently, the school has two campuses in Philadelphia and was recently approved for a third.

MaST has been working to open a charter school in the district since 2012. They were initially denied by the school board and fought the decision. In 2017, the school board begrudgingly approved MaST-Neshaminy Charter School’s application after a state court ruled in its favor.