Connellsville to conduct hearings as school board considers building closures
CONNELLSVILLE — The Connellsville Area School Board will conduct two formal public hearings this week as members consider the closure of buildings and reconfiguration of grade levels for the district.
The PA School Code Section 780 hearings will take place Tuesday at Connellsville Junior High East, located at 710 Locust St. and on Thursday at Zachariah Connell Elementary School, located at 700 Park St. Both meetings will begin at 6 p.m.
The school code requires districts that are considering the closure of buildings to conduct public hearings on the issues 90 days before formal action is taken by the school board.
The board has agreed to consider four options, including the closure of the Zachariah Connell building; the closure of the Junior High West facility and Zachariah Connell; only the closure of the Junior High West building or maintain the current district structure.
In prior board discussions, the members have indicated that with the already-approved action to move the freshman class to the high school, it would be advantageous to combined grades 7 and 8 now housed in Junior High East and Junior High West into Junior High East, the larger of the two buildings.
According to a recent feasibility study, Zachariah Connell, one of the district’s oldest facilities, is considered to be the most costly to renovate.
Dr. Paul Means, board vice-president and building and grounds committee chairman, said that the hearings are the result of several months of public meetings, the review of prior studies and input from district administrators.
“We have tried to make these proceedings very interactive and transparent and to be sure that there has been ample opportunity for the public to voice concerns or offer suggestions,” said Means. “We will now hold the hearings and hopefully be able to have an open dialogue to not only help to alleviate any fears or dispel any untrue assumptions, but to also take very seriously any concerns that the parents, children, taxpayers or any other stakeholder may have.”
Attorney Christopher Stern, district solicitor, said that a court stenographer will document the proceedings that will include presentations by the district architectural firm and administrators.
Architect Jeffrey Straub, project manager for Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates of Mechanicsburg, will review the October feasibility study analysis of the two buildings being considered for closure.
Transportation, safety, food service, building and grounds and staffing issues will be discussed by the various department administrators with principals offering their prospective to the potential changes.
“The public will then have the opportunity to offer their comments,” said Stern, adding that each speaker will be given five minutes to offer their testimony and can not defer their allotted time to another speaker. “We will give everyone the opportunity to speak.”
Written comments can be submitted to the board at the hearings or sent by mail or delivered to the administration office within 30 days of the hearings.
The next step will be a 90-day “cooling off” period for the board to review the testimony and any other information that is submitted to it following the hearings, said Stern.
The board will convene a special meeting after May 15 to take action in the matter.
“There will be four resolutions to consider,” said Stern. “And, the final outcome may be to keep everything status quo.
“The board has done its due diligence in conducting monthly committee meetings with the public to talk about these possible changes.
“These hearings are another opportunity for the public to take part in this important process.”
The current feasibility study along with prior reports prepared for the district regarding the buildings can be found on its website at www.casdfalcons.org.