POTTSTOWN PA – Renewed interest by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in negotiating a possible lease of the soon-to-be-vacated St. Pius X High School to the Pottsgrove School District, as a temporary location to house Ringing Rocks Elementary School students while their building is renovated, gave both district officials and parents reason to be cautiously optimistic Tuesday night (Feb. 23, 2010).

A crowd of about 150 people attended Tuesday's school board meeting.

“The dialog” between the parties “seems to have picked up the pace a bit” over the past two days, district Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis acknowledged during a meeting of the Board of School Directors, attended inside the gym at Ringing Rocks, 1401 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, by about 150 people.

Many in the crowd came to advocate for leasing the Pius building on North Keim Street, Pottstown, rather than a proposal to relocate Ringing Rocks’ students to modular classrooms installed on the grounds of the Pottsgrove Middle School. Pius will be emptied when its student body moves to a new building in nearby Royersford PA this fall.

Initially, the combined lease-and-utilities expenses of using Pius was estimated by district administrators at almost twice the cost of the modulars. That difference prompted school board members, during their Jan. 26 meeting, to favor the lower-priced choice.

“We understand that money talks,” district resident Dena Kraichley told the board Tuesday. “But if leasing Pius erases 90 percent” of parents’ concerns about safety, transportation, and educational programming with the modular plan, she noted, directors should examine that choice more closely. So should Pius’ owner, added Kraichley, who said she and others had written a letter to the Archdiocese urging its flexibility in making a deal.

“We are still talking, but we do have to move forward with other plans just in case,” Landis said of the negotiations and the modulars. “And we’ve never taken the Pius option off the table,” added board President Michael Neiffer.

The board meeting, which began at 7:30 p.m. and didn’t end until after 11, included presentations on the district’s projected enrollment through 2019; discussions of the current plans for Ringing Rocks’ renovation and its features and appearance; a brief board debate over how bonds would pay for the almost $18 million project; and extensive audience questions about the relocation.

Editor’s note: These and other aspects of the Ringing Rocks’ project and Tuesday’s meeting will be covered in stories planned for later this week.

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• Ringing Rocks Relocation Discussion Set For Tonight
• In The Ringing Rebuild, Whither Pius?
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Plan: Modulars At MS
• Ringing Rocks Construction Cost Hearing Tonight
• Planners OK Ringing Rocks Land Sketch
• District Sets Dec. 3 Hearing On Rocks Budget
• Pottsgrove Asks State Help To Pay For Ringing Re-Build
• As School Opens, Progress On Ringing Rocks’ Project
• Surprise Enrollment Spurs Demographic Interest
• District Assembles Ringing Rocks Planning Team
• District OKs Architect Negotiations
• Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
• Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
• Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
• Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
• Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
• No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
• Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
• Framing The Rocks Discussion
• Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
• District Invites Public For Study Results
• A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept

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