An attempt by new Boyertown School Board member James Brophy to delay the closing of Pine Forge Elementary School for one year and form a community committee to study the issue failed by a 5-4 vote Monday evening.
Meeting for the first voting meeting of 2020, the newly configured school board heard impassioned please from advocates of keeping Pine Forge open during the meeting at Colebrookdale Elementary School.
Voting in favor were Brophy and board members Ruth Dierolf, Christine Neiman and Roger Updegrove.
The pleas followed a report by Superintendent Dana Bedden on the changes being made as a result of the Nov. 26 vote by the previous board to close Pine Forge Elementary School.
Bedden said one result will be classroom size will be "more equitable and more consistent" and within the district's guidelines. In grades K-3, sizes will be 25 or less and 30 or less in grades four and five.
He said district vacancies are being filled by staff from Pine Forge and attendance areas were being
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Photos by Evan Brandt
Supporters of keeping Pine Forge open wore tops
emblazoned with the hashtag #PineForgeStrong.
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Bedden also said the closure will save $750,000 this year, which will cut the projected budget deficit of $1.4 million, this despite the lowest number of staff retirements in recent memory.
"We usually get 11 for a savings of $1.1 million. This year, we have only three," he said.
As the staff prepares for the transition, he said more savings will be highlighted in future budget presentations.
But the closure of a school is about more than money, argued the speakers last night. Although, they argued that the burgeoning development in the district, primarily on the Montgomery County side of the 100 square-mile district, may soon have the board regretting a decision to close a school they may soon need.
The two elementary schools on the Montgomery County side, Gilbertsville and New Hanover/Upper Frederick are both already at capacity. The district's re-districting plan will re-distribute some of those students to schools on the Berks County side.
But it makes more sense, many argued, to keep Pine Forge open and send some of those students there to help justify the cost of keeping the school open.
Parent Nathan Yorgi said his children's five-minute bus ride will now be 50 minutes to get them to
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Parent Dawn Keebler tells the board that larger class sizes
will mean losing teachers. "Your young staff will run," she
said. "Your salaries are not high enough to keep them here."
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"You don't want to put $4 million into Pine Forge when we've ready to spend $6.7 million on a stadium that only benefits kids who play sports," said Kevin Patton, who said he has six children.
(The price of that stadium and related athletic facilities plan was threatening to rise to $7 million as the result of the Dec. 10 decision by the Colebrookdale Zoning Hearing Board to deny a variance sought to allow the construction of restrooms at the complex.
The alternative would have added $350,000 to the $6.7 million plan, which was recommended by the board's finance and facilities committee, but Brophy said he would not vote for a project that totaled $7 million. He offered and amendment, which was adopted unanimously, to keep the price as is and require the board to find the money for the remainder within the existing budget.)
Brophy's second motion attracted a lot of support from the audience.
He proposed that the paperwork submitted to Harrisburg to close the school be withdrawn and a committee "populated with two board members, one administrative staff member, the communications person and two parents from each elementary school but Washington to study the closure and possibly consider alternatives.
However, he also proposed limiting it to prevent the question "ending up never being resolved." The committee "must be complete with names submitted to the board in no more than 60 days from this date. If any of the named schools cannot supply the required committee members, Pine forge, as the most affected school, gets to fill the empty seats. If the committee is not formed and submitted to the board within the required time, the original board vote would be honored," Brophy proposed.
"The second requirement is that the committee would formulate and present their findings to the board for a formal vote within four months of formation, whether it be an alternative solution or finalize the original board decision," Brophy proposed. "If this hurdle is not met, the original decision will be honored."
Bedden said, to be clear, that the move would increase the deficit on the preliminary budget approved by a 7-2 vote earlier that night. "We'd either have to decimate the educational program or we'd be looking at furloughs," said Bedden.
He also said that even if the vote succeeded, "15 percent of all the students are still going to move to a different school."
But the Brophy's proposal had support from the crowd.
"We are finally being heard," said Jennifer Irey, who earlier had told the board that after the Daniel Boone School Board closed Birdsboro Elementary School for similar reasons, the district's elementary center "saw a 500 percent increase" in behavioral referrals.
"I love this plan," said Jo Yorgi. "Send us more students."
"This is a great idea," said Washington Township Supervisor David Moyer. "If you're keeping all the staff, the only real impact is the upkeep of the building. We can cut some heads at the top to pay for that. We're usually top heavy here anyway."
Gilbertsville resident Jon Emeigh said he favors the idea "in principle." But he said those who vote for it must be ready to also support the impacts. "All proposals should have a budget impact attached to them" and those board members who say they want to keep the school open, but vote against budgets, must be prepared to vote for higher costs. "Anything else is just pandering," he said.
Board member Jill Dennin disputed the Pine Forge parents' claims that no one on the board had listened to them, saying that she had.
"I do feel I've listened. Lots of parents and teachers have said we need to close Pine Forge, said Dennin, calling the vote "the most heart-wrenching decision a board member has to make."
Neiman, participating by speaker phone, supported the idea and said "if this means we have to put the closing back by one year, we can find a way to do that."
Board Vice President Melody McWhereter said she liked the idea of the committee, but worried about "setting a precedent" of reversing previous board votes.
"As a fiscal conservative, I can't believe I am going to say this, but sometimes its about more than just the money," said Brophy.
However, he also proposed limiting it to prevent the question "ending up never being resolved." The committee "must be complete with names submitted to the board in no more than 60 days from this date. If any of the named schools cannot supply the required committee members, Pine forge, as the most affected school, gets to fill the empty seats. If the committee is not formed and submitted to the board within the required time, the original board vote would be honored," Brophy proposed.
"The second requirement is that the committee would formulate and present their findings to the board for a formal vote within four months of formation, whether it be an alternative solution or finalize the original board decision," Brophy proposed. "If this hurdle is not met, the original decision will be honored."
Bedden said, to be clear, that the move would increase the deficit on the preliminary budget approved by a 7-2 vote earlier that night. "We'd either have to decimate the educational program or we'd be looking at furloughs," said Bedden.
He also said that even if the vote succeeded, "15 percent of all the students are still going to move to a different school."
But the Brophy's proposal had support from the crowd.
"We are finally being heard," said Jennifer Irey, who earlier had told the board that after the Daniel Boone School Board closed Birdsboro Elementary School for similar reasons, the district's elementary center "saw a 500 percent increase" in behavioral referrals.
"I love this plan," said Jo Yorgi. "Send us more students."
"This is a great idea," said Washington Township Supervisor David Moyer. "If you're keeping all the staff, the only real impact is the upkeep of the building. We can cut some heads at the top to pay for that. We're usually top heavy here anyway."
Gilbertsville resident Jon Emeigh said he favors the idea "in principle." But he said those who vote for it must be ready to also support the impacts. "All proposals should have a budget impact attached to them" and those board members who say they want to keep the school open, but vote against budgets, must be prepared to vote for higher costs. "Anything else is just pandering," he said.
Board member Jill Dennin disputed the Pine Forge parents' claims that no one on the board had listened to them, saying that she had.
"I do feel I've listened. Lots of parents and teachers have said we need to close Pine Forge, said Dennin, calling the vote "the most heart-wrenching decision a board member has to make."
Neiman, participating by speaker phone, supported the idea and said "if this means we have to put the closing back by one year, we can find a way to do that."
Board Vice President Melody McWhereter said she liked the idea of the committee, but worried about "setting a precedent" of reversing previous board votes.
"As a fiscal conservative, I can't believe I am going to say this, but sometimes its about more than just the money," said Brophy.
The question was called, a procedural measure that cuts off debate, before other board members could speak and the vote resulted in a 5-4 defeat.
Board member Lisa Hogan said she worried the measure would "create devastation to our program," and had questions but rushing the vote left her without answers, which was why she voted no.
Board President Brandon Foose, who was a member of the previous board who voted in favor of the closure because he continues to believe "it is the best thing for the most students" and would help increase the district's financial stability.
Implementing goals like increasing guidance counselors,m or starting new programs, have financial impacts. "The ability to do these things is driven by dollars and cents," he said.
Click here to see the Tweets from last night's meeting.
Click here to see the Tweets from last night's meeting.
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