Crowd Questions Phoenixville School District's Planned $4M Land Buy for New Elementary School

Haphazard Photos by Evan Brandt

It was standing-room-only at Thursday night's public hearing on the Phoenixville School Board's plan to buy 29.5 acres off Hare's Hill Road for $4 million and the possible home for a new elementary school.

Roughly 50 people, many of them from East Pikeland Township, packed into the Phoenixville School District's meeting room Thursday night to hear about the plans for the $4 million purchase of 29.5 acres off Hare's Hill Road -- and to question those plans.

The red line, barely visible in my crappy photo, shows the 

borders of the property the school district wants to purchase.

The district has a "letter of intent" with the property owner for the purchase 29.5 acres bounded by route 724, Route 23 and Hare's Hill Road in East Pikeland, said School Board President Lisa Longo.

It's eventual plans for the property are an additional elementary school.

Ten years ago, a Wal-Mart was proposed for the site and it is currently approved for 79 town homes under a court decision, said Superintendent Alan Fegley.

The land, across from the Kimberton Meadows subdivision, is currently fallow and not used for any purpose.

He said the district looked seriously at nine other properties, all of which were less desirable for a variety of reasons including not having water, sewer or electricity; being on unimproved roads; or even having unacceptably high purchase or renovation prices.

He said East Pikeland officials steered school officials toward this parcel, saying they would prefer it to be developed as a school, rather than more housing. The township planning commission even adopted a letter endorsing the move, said Fegley.

Image of 622 Hare's Hill Road from Google Earth  

Fegley said the district has been dealing with increasing enrollment for several years, and had to plan ahead for the possibility of this trend continuing.

Current forecasts show that beyond the next five years, the district could have 350 to 500 more students to educate in all grades.

"Heaven forbid we wait four years and suddenly find we need to build a new school and prices are higher and there is no land available," said board member Eric Dougherty, chairman of the board's finance committee, which has recommended moving forward with the purchase.

Should the enrollment surge not materialize, the district can always sell the property, said Fegley.

The district hopes to partially offset the purchase price and cost of building a new school by selling some of its other properties, including the old East Pikeland Elementary School, worth between $4 million and $6 million; the kindergarten center, estimate to be worth $4 million and a residential property on Hallowell Avenue, valued at $350,000.

Some arsenic has been identified in the soil on the site, a contaminant Fegley said the district has experience dealing with and is common on former agricultural sites. He said old photographs show an orchard located on the site.

The board is awaiting the results of a more extensive environmental review of the property but anticipates a vote to purchase the property to come next month, said School Board President Lisa Longo.

The audience listens to an explanation for the purchase of 

property in East Pikeland Township. Thursday night.

None of the 10 people who got up to ask questions or make formal comments spoke in favor of the idea. Some, such as Lisa Morrell, questioned if the purchase and new school would mean a tax increase.

Longo said more housing developments means more tax revenues, and economic development incentives that phase in increased tax revenues over 10 years are coming on line, meaning the purchase and construction "would not necessarily mean a tax increase."

The board increased the tax rate for the coming school year by more than 3 percent in May.

Another East Pikeland resident, Dan Sidlo, won applause when he said the school district "must learn to live within your means."

He urged the district to take another look at the 61-acre Technical College High School property on Charlestown Road in Schuylkill Township, but Fegley said that is located on the wrong side of the district from where the growth is occurring; that the asking price was too high and added it is not a good road for school bus traffic.

Several resident, including John Mraz, said traffic on Route 724 is already terrible and questioned the wisdowm of putting a school there and adding more school bus traffic to the road.

Mraz also accused the board of lacking transparency with the public since this is the first the public was made aware of the possible purchase.

Longo said the law allows the board to discuss potential real estate purchases behind closed doors in "executive session" because "if everyone knew we were looking at properties, the prices would rise because they figure the taxpayers will pay for it."

"By being proactive, we are having great negotiations with the current land owner. By getting land early, we're set for down the road," said Fegley.

Longo said all the questions asked, and the answers, at the hearing would be posted on the district web site, and that additional questions and concerns are welcome.

Now, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Phoenixville Schools to Plan for Growth With $4M Land Purchase