Centers' opponent Rick Rabinowitz, seated, and school board President Michael Neiffer smile and talk before Tuesday's vote
POTTSTOWN PA – With a guarantee that full-day kindergarten classes will be provided across the Pottsgrove School District, rather that its current mix of mostly half- and some full-day offerings, and with the promise that parents would be included in transition planning, the Board of School Directors unanimously voted Tuesday (Feb. 28, 2012) to remake three elementary schools into substantially different grade-level education centers.
The vote means that by September, when they re-open for the 2012-2013 year, West Pottsgrove and Ringing Rocks elementaries will house only kindergarten through second-grade students, and Lower Pottsgrove Elementary will serve only those in grades 3-5. All three currently accommodate a traditional K-5 student body.
The reconfiguration will result in busing some children, who live near a school they currently attend, to one farther away. Families with children in different grades who now attend the same school together may find them separated next year. Those are trade-offs directors said they were willing to make for “the long-term well-being of every child,” according to board President Michael Neiffer.
The change is intended to improve teaching quality, and possibly lower future costs by consolidating teachers and resources. But most members of an audience of about 150 people, who attended the board meeting at Pottsgrove High School, hotly disputed those claims. Upon hearing the vote many in the crowd were initially stunned and disbelieving, then became angry. A few left shouting in outrage.
“I’m really disappointed,” said centers’ opposition spokesman Rick Rabinowitz. “I think the school board really blew it. They has so many other choices they could have made. They had such an opportunity to exploit this positive energy of so many parents, and they just put a dart through it.”
Rabinowitz said opponents would explore legal options to further fight the decision. He also said he likely would be a future candidate to run for election to the board.
The centers concept, proposed and advocated by Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis, was one of two possible methods the district said it could use to reduce growing class sizes and balance the elementary student population. The second method, redrawing boundary lines that determine which students attend which schools, went unmentioned by the nine-member board during Tuesday’s final discussions.
A large group of district residents, calling themselves “Pottsgrove Residents Against Centers,” argued during the last three months that the proposal was unproven and experimental. They said it would create more disruptions, for students and teachers alike, than solve learning difficulties or raise scores on state and federal standardized tests.
They also said it would increase, not lower, district expenses with more busing and hiring required for full-day kindergarten. The board acknowledged that, in the first year, centers would add about $170,000 to district costs. Directors did not say where that money would come from.
The group also openly expressed doubts whether Landis and his staff can successfully execute the plan. “I just don’t trust the administration to do it properly,” parent Danielle Walsh told directors.
“We don’t have all the answers,” Neiffer conceded. “We won’t have all the answers until we start to implement the plan … The administration says they can get it done, and we have to believe they will.”
Each board member spoke before the vote, with almost all conditioning their approval on the full-day kindergarten guarantee.
Other coverage:
- Pottsgrove Approves Consolidation Plan (NBC10-TV)
- ‘Centers’ approved unanimously by Pottsgrove board, need for full-day kindergarten cited (The Mercury)
Related (to Pottsgrove School District redistricting):
- Pottsgrove Board OKs Ed Centers, Full-Day Kindergarten
- On Facebook, Via Cells, First The News Then A Firestorm
- Attention-Getter: Philly TV Crew Spends Its Day In ‘Grove
- Get A Seat Early For Tonight’s Pottsgrove Board Meeting
- Bright Yellow Signs Flag Pottsgrove Centers’ Opposition
- The Case Against Centers in the Pottsgrove School District
- Pottsgrove Ed Centers’ Opponents Launch Petition Drive
- Pottsgrove Principals Distribute Redistrict Info Letters
- Debate Aside, Pottsgrove K-Classes Sign-Up Starts
- Pottsgrove’s Case For Education Centers, Take Two
- Pottsgrove Says It Will Work To Improve Public Notice
- 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
Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Feb. 28 meeting):
- Pottsgrove Board OKs Ed Centers, Full-Day Kindergarten
- On Facebook, Via Cells, First The News Then A Firestorm
- Attention-Getter: Philly TV Crew Spends Its Day In ‘Grove
- Get A Seat Early For Tonight’s Pottsgrove Board Meeting
My biggest concern is how the children have been made to feel anxious over going to a center. I feel they should not have been exposed to the debate between the parents and the board. They are feeding off their parents fears when the parents should have been helping them to feel at ease with whatever decision was made. Now I feel like a lot of unnecessary emotional damage will need to be undone so there transition will be as smooth as possible. I also feel like I may have used the word feel too much.
Thank you for continuing to cover this issue, the costs in the First year can reach 200K depending on the planning and moving of all the resources. The cost each year there after was 170K as admitted by the board. The money has to come from somewhere within the already tight budget. I did not hear that school funding went up 170K from last year. I did hear that Pottsgrove funding remained level. This can have a far reaching effect an the Middle and High School because that is where the cuts will need to be made.
bottom line, our taxes will still continue to go up at the maximum rate allowed by law, while overall the students will get less.
I hope this will work out, but since the board decided to do this in good faith without all of the answers, I have no confidence in the current school board or the administration
Shelly, you crack me up. I agree with you on the emotional part. I did not involve either of my boys (both in elementary school) and they don’t care one way or the other. You are correct when you say children feed off of their parents; and no, you can never use the word feel too much.
Shelly, I hear what you are saying and yet I FEEL as though the blame you’re assigning to the parents of our community is misplaced. This one doesn’t go to the parents in the aftermath of this unwarranted, under-researched, unfaithful, and “unfeeling” decision; it goes to the Pottsgrove School Board. As a first time attendee to one of the reconfiguration meetings, I was struck by the incredible lack of forethought for the future impact of this decision, factual decision making, and consideration of this board in supposedly representing our community. If they felt an ounce of concern for the children of this community, for their well being, for the quality of their educational experience, or their personal feelings, they would have run in the opposite direction of this proposal by administration. Instead they ran towards it. Together, with their canned “excuses” and ego-centered personal opinions rather than factually-based deliberation, this community has been betrayed. Last night I saw nothing but cowards hiding behind the “best interest of students” argument. This just makes it all the more apparent. I’m not asking who is at the helm of the Pottsgrove School District any longer, I’m asking why we elected these school board “officials” who so blatantly and audaciously disregard the needs and input of the overwhelming
majority of members of their community?
I like the board and I would vote for them again; they have made some tough choices in an uncertain time. While we all may not agree with their decision, until you are in their shoes one cannot say what they would have done. They can only speculate.
To all,
I am not going to engage in a character debate regarding me and the rest of the Board as the community is entitled to voice their thoughts, regardless of what is said.
What I will say is now that the decision has been made, my hope is everyone (community, Board, Admin, teachers) comes together to work towards making the implementation a success. I feel strongly that with the energy and passion displayed the past few months, this District can accomplish this. In order to do so, we need to respect each other’s viewpoints on the matter and actively participate in the upcoming transition meetings.
I was encouraged to hear people last night (on both sides of the issue) openly volunteer to be on the transition committee. That speaks volumes to the true character of the District.
To Mr. Gregg’s point, the Board and the Administration need to work to close the confidence gap that some or many may have at this point.
I have been proud to serve the District for the past 10+ years, through mold issues, work stoppages, and renovations, just to name a few. Through it all, I have always based my decisions on what I felt was best for the District. Sometimes those decisions have been popular, other times not so much. And with that comes a range of motions
As we go through the transition, I will continue to be accessible to all community members. Throughout this process I have given out my contact information so I will do it again now. 610-513-4900 and michaelneiffer@comcast.net.
Regards,
Mike N.
The decision has been made, thank you… from now on we know that no matter what we say… oh, it doesn’t matter
Greg (No Mr., first name)
Why are we busy fighting wars in the Middle East to “export democracy”, when we cannot even practice it at home? Don’t the 1,500 signatures collected by Mr. Rabinowits count as the Voice of the People in this Land of the Free?
Just another case of PGSD Admininstration Arrogance doing what it KNOWS is best for the people – with all the pesky facts swept aside and their constituents’ rights trampled into the gutter.
How many affected parents will now send letters to the PGSD informing them that their children will be attending Cyber School next term? At a cost to the school district of $13,000 per cyber student, I think they may change their mind if only a few dozen students defect to the competition.
Mr. Neifer: You would stand a better chance of serving another term on the PG School Board if you actually represented the majority of your constituents instead of constantly caving into the arrogant will of the no-it-all school administrators. Bye-bye to you, Sir.
While I agree that this whole centers thing is moving too quickly and not enough research has been presented I feel I am totally right in placing the blame on the parents for their childrens anxiety over going to a new school. It is not the school boards responsibility to make little “Susie “feel safe and comfortable w/ a new school and when I read comments like “I feel I’m throwing my child to the wolves or sending them to the lion’s den” I can only imagine how this is translating to them. Children were hysterical the next morning. I mean parents actually took their children to witness these board meetings and then in the next breath talk about how their child doesn’t adapt well. I guess they wouldn’t. I just feel like now we should pull together as one big Pottsgrove family.
Shelly, I disagree with your statement that it is “not the school board’s responsibility to make little ‘Susie’ feel safe and comfortable w/ a new school.”
It sure is. Although neither directors or administrators are in the classroom to calm Susie’s fears, both are accountable for setting the leadership tenor and tone for district employees that says “here’s how we’ll handle the trauma if it surfaces.”
As for taking children to “witness these board meetings,” I personally did not see any evidence of that. But what if they did? My Cub Scout den mother was taking our pack to municipal meetings in rural Edmeston NY when I was in third grade. It’s called a civics lesson, and I suggest our children need more of them, not fewer.
Thanks very much for your comments, Shelly. You’re challenging us to think, and that’s always appreciated. Regards,
Joe Zlomek, Managing Editor
One more thing, I did not assign blame to the parents of this community only to the ones who are responsible for involving their children. If someone feels guilty of this that’s for them to resolve. I know many parents, like Danielle mentioned, who did not traumatize their child. Some of the younger children have even said they welcome the idea of not going to school with the older, scarier kids.That’s not an actual quote; they said it in kid language. My own daughter said she hated going to school with the big kids and I know a few little kids who would really appreciate getting away from my loud, big, sometimes tough son and his 5th grade friends.
You’re right Joe, I should have thought a little before stating that. I guess what I was thinking is that no one has more concern for a child feeling safe and comfortable than their parents and they are also the ones who can be the most effective in doing so, but I feel some parents may have caused their children to have fears that are not warranted.
I know children were taken to board meetings, because I heard this from parents who did so. If it was just your normal 2nd Tues of every month board meeting, that would be fine, but a meeting where ppl seem so hostile and at times a parent is yelling at a board member.
I have not formed a concrete opinion about the centers being completely good or bad, however I have formed an opinion about people not being willing to listen to anyone that has anything positive to say about centers or even just a differing opinion about issues involving the centers. I have appreciated Mr. Rabinowitz’s efforts in providing thought provoking research as well as opinions but I have found that almost every time I have looked on the facebook page that he has started many people (not Mr. Rabinowitz) have been nothing less than vicious towards anyone who expresses differing thoughts and opinions.
Linette, I can’t speak for other people. All I can say is that I have nothing but respect for the people that are for the centers and/or on the fence like yourself. I have done my best to avoid any negativity towards people with opposing points of view, and when called out for having such negativity, have admitted my error and offered an apology. I have also deleted more comments than you know from the facebook group that I felt were not in line with my own vision of what correctness. I have had countless private dialogs with people like yourself; to be clear, for me, I never intended, nor did I say, that your opinions were invalid. I simply stated with conviction that such opinions were in the minority and that majority rules in this country. Believe me, I am in the minority in this nation on more things than I’d care to admit.
I really appreciate your efforts Rick. I feel that you have handled an issue that you feel strongly about in an above board manor. Keep up the good work!