Matt Schickling, the Wire
As Neshaminy students and parents get ready to start the 2015–2016 school year, the district’s consolidation plan is moving along as scheduled.
At the site of the former Tawanka school in Lower Southampton, the demolition of the old building is well underway and should be completed by the end of August. There, an 800-student elementary school will be built to fill the need left by the permanent closure of Samuel Everitt Elementary in Levittown and the eventual closures of Oliver Heckman and Lower Southampton elementaries.
“The site work has been mostly completed,” Neshaminy representative Chris Stanley said. “The foundation work is already underway. The framing is going up in under a month or two. Progress from the street should be visible.”
Another aspect of the consolidation plan that is taking shape this year is that the fifth-graders will be joining the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the middle schools. This portion of the plan drew the most criticism from residents when the current school board voted it through last year.
Orientation for fifth-graders started last week. They were brought into their new schools, introduced to some faculty and given information about classes, scheduling and supplies needed.
Many parents opposed consolidation, and their dissatisfaction is the main reason there is going to be at least four new members on the school board after November’s election. Four of the new candidates are anti-consolidation.
They’re part of a group of Neshaminy parents and citizens called Save Our Neshaminy Schools that formed in the wake of the original discussions.
Originally, this group called for a stall of the consolidation project until the primary elections in May, but that wish was not granted. The flipside is that members for consolidation wanted to take advantage of low bond rates in order to implement capital improvement projects now instead of later and ultimately save the district money.
Furthering the complications in the district is then-Superintendent Robert Copeland’s resignation, which took place in May as he accepted the superintendent job in Lower Merion School District. Since, former Bensalem Superintendent David Baugh took over as interim superintendent.
Several school board members voiced satisfaction with the job he has done thus far, and he will likely be considered for the full-time position when the time comes. But, any sitting board has the right to hire anyone it wants.
“For the two months that Dr. Baugh has been here, he’s been doing a great job,” board member Stephen Pirritano said. “What better way to interview a full-time superintendent than to work with him for a half a year.”
The indication, then, is that the search for a full-time superintendent won’t begin until after the newly-elected board members take their seats in December.
The district also changed some of the start and end times for the school day to help streamline bus scheduling. Elementary schools will start at 9:10 a.m. and end at 3:35 p.m. Middle schools will start at 7:55 a.m. and end at 2:55 p.m. High school class times did not change and it will continue to start at 7:15 a.m. and end at 2:14 p.m.
Another aspect of change, not only in the district, but across the state is that some parent volunteers need to get criminal clearances to participate in school activities. A law that went into effect this year calls for people working or volunteering with children to update their clearances every 36 months.
The information for these clearances is located at www.keepkidssafe.pa.gov or on the district website.
The first day of school for students in kindergarten and fifth, sixth and ninth grades is Sept. 2. The following day, all students will report.
For more information, visit www.neshaminy.k12.pa.us.
