What School Will Your Child Attend?

Photo by Evan Brandt

According to this map, the red areas of town will send students to Barth, the blue to Lincoln, the green to Franklin and the purple to Rupert.

Perhaps those who don't send their children to Rupert or Edgewood elementary schools might think the decision to close Edgewood Elementary School does not affect them.

But if you have elementary school-age children in the Pottstown school system, just about everyone will be affected.

Because, as Robert Stevens, assistant to the superintendent, explained to the finance committee last week, when you go from five schools to four, all the attendance lines have to shift.

Stevens gave an overview of those changes during the Feb. 14 committee meeting, but emphasized nothing is set in stone -- at least not yet.

As a result of re-drawing the lines, done with what school officials called the invaluable help of Public Works Director Doug Yerger, each school will hold about 350 students, Stevens said.

Dr. Robert Stevens explains the proposed elementary re-districting

to the Pottstown School Board's finance committee Feb. 14.

Of course that won't be until the renovation and expansion projects at Barth, Lincoln, Franklin and Rupert are completed.

The Barth project is underway now, and the three remaining projects are set to bid shortly and work is set to begin as soon as school lets out.

Because the Rupert project is so much more extensive, school officials decided to move all students and staff from Rupert to Edgewood for the coming school year, to give the contractors more elbow room at Rupert.

All fifth graders will be moved to Pottstown Middle School as part of this plan.

In addition to balancing out school populations, another result of re-districting elementary attendance areas is "we cut our busing costs significantly," Stevens said.

However, in order for those costs to be cut, that means that students attending Rupert will have to cross High Street.

As a result, the district has applied to PennDOT to have High Street removed from PennDOT's list of hazardous streets.

That will allow walking students to cross, with the help of crossing guards, Stevens said.

The district also plans to adopt a policy of re-districting the elementary attendance areas every 10 years in order to keep the populations at each school balanced.

The proposal will be formally presented to the school board at this Thursday's school board meeting and Superintendent Jeff Sparagana said the district intends to put the maps up on the district web site subsequently so the public can become familiar with the proposal.