Hearing set to discuss closure of Uniontown schools
Franklin Elementary, Marclay Middle being eyed
The Uniontown Area School District board will hold a public meeting later this month to discuss closing two schools after next year in response to declining enrollment numbers.
The district board voted 7-0 Monday to schedule a hearing for May 27 to discuss closing Franklin Elementary School in Vanderbilt and Marclay Middle School in Markleysburg.
Monday’s vote follows one at a meeting last week to realign grade levels district-wide to kindergarten through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grades and ninth through 12th.
Superintendent Daniel Bosnic said “right-sizing” facilities was a necessary move in the wake of decades-long trends of declining enrollment and staff shortages.
In the 2006-07 school year, he said, the district had 3,344 students, a graduating class of 231, and 267 teachers.
This year, those numbers stand at 2,466 students (a 26% decline), 143 soon-to-be graduates (down 38%) and 176 teachers (down 34%).
Bosnic also pointed to a declining tax base, bond debt, rising costs and changes in census data that directly impact funding.
“Doing more of the same is simply no longer sustainable,” he said. “We must now focus on how we move forward. This means being honest about the number of students we serve and identifying the structural system that best fits our needs.”
Cost estimates prepared by the firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates in April for the study assumed the closure of Franklin Elementary School and Marclay Middle School. In the scenario laid out by Crabtree, middle school students would all attend Lafayette Middle School, while the other schools except for the high school would become K-5.
Addressing critical building upgrade needs at all schools in the district would cost between $17.9 million and $20.6 million, Larry Levato, a principal at the firm, told the board earlier this year.
He said comprehensive renovations would cost between $125.2 million and $143.1 million.
Unlike another configuration evaluated by Crabtree — moving to K-6 and 7-12 — the district would not need to renovate any buildings to add classrooms, Bosnic said.
In response to questions from the board, Bosnic said the district did not plan to eliminate any positions as a result of the new model.
The board had previously planned a vote on closing Franklin Elementary School at the end of the year for its March meeting before announcing it would take more time to deliberate, postponing closure by at least a year.
“I empathize with those who have strong emotions, cherished memories associated with these schools,” Bosnic said. “However, I value the future of the people inside those buildings far more than the structures themselves. This financial reality requires thoughtful and proactive action. If we fail to act now, we risk being forced into future decisions that will be far more disruptive, reactive and difficult for our students, staff and community.”
Parents were critical of the potential closures Monday.
Scott Fordyce, whose child is entering kindergarten, said he wanted to see more transparency from the district about how the decisions were being made and how money was being used, such as the proceeds from the sale of the former A.J. McMullen Middle School.
“No one wants to see any school closed,” he said. “The children did not create this situation, yet they are the ones that feel the consequences, larger class sizes, longer bus rides and the loss of stability. These concerns have been raised repeatedly, and yet we’ve received very few answers.”
Under Pennsylvania law, districts cannot vote to close a school until three months after the first board meeting.
If the board approves moving forward at the May 27 meeting, the followup vote would take place Sept. 1.