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Albert Gallatin Area School Board to hold public hearing on possible school closure

By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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D. Ferd Swaney Elementary School, located on Township Drive in Georges Township.

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Herald-Standard

Shown is the former D. Ferd Swaney Elementary School, located on Township Drive in Georges Township, which was closed in 2016.

Residents of the Albert Gallatin Area School District are invited on Wednesday to ask questions and present any concerns about the potential closing of D. Ferd Swaney Elementary School.

School directors are conducting the public hearing, to begin at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria, as a means to decide whether or not to permanently close D. Ferd at the start of the 2016-17 school year.

“The board will digest all of the comments, and if they agree with the administration’s recommendation, we will move forward with the closure,” said district Superintendent Carl Bezjak. “We don’t like to rush into decisions that will affect students, parents and the community. This has been well studied, and hopefully, we can answer some questions, and address any anxieties parents may have.”

Bezjak announced the public hearing at the board’s July meeting, citing declining enrollment as one major factor behind the district’s recommendation.

According to Bezjak, the district has experienced a decline of 1,157 students since 1988. At that time, there were 4,509 students in the district, and at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, the number of students was 3,352.

With 232 students enrolled at A.L. Wilson Elementary in the 2014-15 school year, and 205 at D. Ferd Swaney, the buildings are operating at a capacity of 55 percent and 59 percent, respectively. A.L Wilson can hold 425 students, and D. Ferd, 350.

The schools are about 3.9 miles apart, and if the board votes to close D. Ferd after holding the public hearing, most students will move to A.L. Wilson, which opened to students in the 2007-08 school year.

A.L. Wilson is LEED-certified. LEED, which stands for, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

The U.S. government has also recognized the school as a Blue Ribbon School; a recognition that honors schools that have achieved high levels of performance or made significant improvements in closing the achievement gap in a school where at least 40 percent of the student population is classified as disadvantaged.

“Are we ever happy to have to close a school? No. But we sometimes have to make these decisions in the best interest of our students, parents and community members,” said Krista Baker, principal of A.L. Wilson and D. Ferd Swaney elementary schools. “I think A.L. Wilson will be a fine choice for our students. I’m confident in the decision.”

While D. Ferd Swaney is an older school, having been built in 1964, Bezjak said it is a solid, well-maintained building that has served the district and its students well.

Since it is on property where the high school is located, the district does not plan to sell the building, and is still exploring options on how the property could be used in the future. Bezjak said one possbility is to use the building as a Head Start facility.

“We haven’t explored all of the possible uses yet,” he said.

In addition to enrollment figures and building capacity numbers, the board and administration are considering this decision in light of recent funding issues.

“As far as utilization and cost-savings measures, our business manager approved the board and asked for us to look at cost-saving scenarios,” Bezjak said.

According to Business Manager Denise Sheetz, during the 2011-12 school year, the district’s basic education funding was set back to the level in 2008-09, and the district has seen very little increases in that line item since 2012.

The district also stopped receiving its cyber/charter school reimbursement in the 2010-11 school year, as well as subsidies for the educational assistance program last year. Accountability block grant funding, which paid for full-day kindergarten, was recently cut by two-thirds, she said, a drop from about $900,000 to $300,000. The district also reduced staff by 18 members through furloughs in the 2011-12 school year.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to reduce our spending without damaging the quality of education,” Sheetz said.

In addition, Sheetz said it costs the district around $2 million per year to maintain D. Ferd.

While the closing of D. Ferd will result in some savings, Sheetz said it will not be a true $2 million per year savings as there will still be some utilities left to pay.

According to the legal advertisement, any interested member of the public may address the board for a period of time, not to exceed five minutes.

Members of the public wishing to speak may formally reserve the opportunity to speak by making a formal request to Dianne Patterson at 724-564-7190, ext. 8110. Members of the public not reserving a speaking time shall be permitted to address the board in order of their appearance on a sign-up sheet, which shall be available at the time of the hearing. Written comments regarding said closing may be submitted to the board secretary, and the comments will be made a part of the hearing record, if provided before or during the public hearing.

“We’re looking for parents to work with us, as we move the project forward,” Bezjak said.

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