Pottsgrove Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis talks to parents Tuesday about redistricting
POTTSTOWN PA – Pottsgrove School District administrators made what even their critics agreed Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2012) was the most thoughtful and well-explained case yet to support the district’s advocacy for reorganizing its elementary schools into grade-level education centers.
They won few if any converts during the exercise, both sides admitted. Most of about 125 people who attended the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ meeting, for a continued discussion of potential redistricting to balance the elementary student population, said they remained unconvinced the “radical change” represented by centers was in the best interests of their children or district finances.
Many expressed relief when board President Michael Neiffer said directors would postpone, at least until their Feb. 28 meeting, any redistricting decision. They want to gain a better understanding, he said, of how Pottsgrove education subsidies will be affected by next month’s state budget address from Gov. Tom Corbett.
- Editor’s Note: The board meeting ended after 11 p.m. This is only the first of several stories The Post will offer as its coverage in coming days.
Neiffer’s announcement marked the second time in recent weeks that the board has pushed back its proposed date for a redistricting vote. He cautioned, however, that its willingness to wait and gather more information should not be construed as hesitation. “We’re committed to making a decision,” Neiffer said. “We’re not going to be sitting on this for years. We need to be looking to move the district forward.”
Some speakers countered that, in considering a change of such magnitude, the board should instead conduct a referendum to determine taxpayers’ will. Directors offered no public reaction to the suggestion.
School directors (above) and the audience agreed information given Tuesday by Pottsgrove administrators in the redistricting discussion was better than that of previous meetings
At issue is how Pottsgrove will deal, next year and in the future, with population shifts among its estimated 1,550 students in kindergarten through fifth grades. They currently attend three K-5 school buildings: Lower Pottsgrove and Ringing Rocks, both in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township; and West Pottsgrove, in Stowe. Classroom space is tight at West, and plentiful at Lower and Ringing.
To deal with past imbalances, the district has redrawn attendance boundaries on a map, using the new lines to shift students from one school to another. Pottsgrove’s administration contends recreating the schools as two K-2 centers, and one for grades 3-5, provides improved education at potentially lower cost. Rather than disrupt fewer than 150 students, however – as a boundary change would – centers could affect several hundreds.
Tuesday’s presentation in the Pottsgrove High School auditorium was quieter and more subdued than earlier discussions. The crowd was significantly smaller. Almost all of the rancor and invective that marked previous meetings had disappeared.
Several in the audience complimented Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis and the board for offering more factual and statistical content. “This was far more constructive than anything you’ve done previously,” district resident and centers opponent Rick Rabinowitz noted; others agreed.
Tuesday's conversations were quieter and more polite, but no less intense. Assistant Superintendent Shellie Feola reacts to questions posed by a parent on student performance among minorities
Public questioning of the administration’s reasoning, on the other hand, was no less intense.
Much of the talk focused on Pottsgrove’s plans to provide all kindergarteners with full-day classes if centers were implemented; parents demanded a guarantee they would be scheduled. Given the still struggling economy, Neiffer replied, the board would not make such a promise. “We may have to go to centers just to keep the full-day kindergarten classes we already have,” he observed.
The meeting, which began at 7:30 p.m., lasted for more than 3-1/2 hours.
Other coverage:
- Pottsgrove board weighs options (The Mercury)
Related (to Pottsgrove School District redistricting):
- Pottsgrove Centers’ Talks Subdued; Decision Delayed
- Notebook Worthy: Pottsgrove, The Master Of Brevity
- It’s Official: ‘Grove Meeting Moved To High School
- Pottsgrove’s Case For Ed Centers: A Nutshell View
- In ‘Horse Race’ Of Opinions, Pottsgrove Serves As Track
- ‘Grove Residents Want Proof Ed Centers Will Succeed
- ‘The Blues’ May Await Pottsgrove’s School Board Tonight
- Both Sides In Pottsgrove Redistricting Head To Facebook
- Pottsgrove Crowd Vocal In Opposing Educational Centers
- Advocate: Pottsgrove Centers ‘Best Access’ To Resources
- Debate Over Pottsgrove Redistricting Gets Started Tuesday
- No Matter What Plan Pottsgrove Adopts, Buses Ready
- Redistricting Info ‘Slanted,’ Pottsgrove Volunteers Charge
- Pottsgrove Redistrict Discussions Quietly Move Ahead
- In Pottsgrove, Redistricting Study Work Gets Started
- Pottsgrove Sets Dates For Redistrict Committee Work
- As Expected, Interest A’Plenty In Pottsgrove Redistricting
- Landis Calls For Pottsgrove Redistricting Volunteers
- Touchy Pottsgrove Redistricting Now Being Considered
I am glad to hear that last night’s meeting went relatively well. I am glad to see both sides heard more information and were all willing to listen. Kudos to those who went and to the board.
This is how the Pottsgrove community should behave.
The community responds to the information presented. Mr. Neiffer deserves credit for changing the format but also for insisting that the administration provide us with the necessary information to understand why they are seeking to make this change. The behavior of the community would have been different in previous meetings if the behavior of the administration had been different.