Morrisville parents want long-term plan

From the BCCT.

What a shock. We want a plan. That's the first time I've heard about that request...NOT!

One of our own borough councilmen lost total control at a school board meeting once shouting "Shame! Shame!" at the late Ed Frankenfield. Mr. Frankenfield's crime? Demanding a plan from the Emperor. (Side note to all who have heard about the Emperor's removal of public speakers from the January 28 meeting because they were disruptive. Not only did he not stop Mr. Worob, he applauded Mr. Worob's comments when they were concluded.)

Do you get it now, your Lord Highness? Where is the plan?

Be sure to send your written comments on the closure plan by Monday at 3:00 P.M. The Emperor and Solicitor Fitzpatrick promised answers to the questions posed.

Morrisville parents want long-term plan
Residents are encouraged to submit written opinions about the proposed closing of M.R. Reiter Elementary by Monday.
By MANASEE WAGH

Whether or not their district is one school short, residents would like to see a long-term plan for Morrisville’s children.

People scattered across the auditorium at the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School listened as about 20 residents, most of them parents, give testimony during a public hearing Thursday evening to close M.R. Reiter Elementary School.

Parents expressed frustration with a December furnace explosion that has required the roughly 250 Reiter students to attend class in various district locations, including the high school. Starting next month, modular units will be installed on Grandview Elementary’s property for grades one and two.

“What are you going to do next? How do we address the children’s safety, especially if we put kindergarten kids with high school kids?” said resident Kevin Waters.

Various parents said they laud the administration’s efforts to continue their children’s education during the emergency, but denounce the board’s lack of full disclosure about a long-term plan if Reiter is permanently closed.

“I’d like to see what they promised during the campaign, that they were going to work on education and safety,” said Susan Hough, the parent of a child at Reiter.

Ed Bailey, the father of a child in the district, said he’d like to see a referendum to decide whether or not Reiter should be closed.

“I don’t want see-sawing. We should come up with a reasonable compromise that most voters will support. There’s been a lot of anger, and I’d like to see us come together,” he said.

The two boilers in the aging building are about 50 years old and should have been replaced twice during their lifetime, said Paul DeAngelo, the district’s business administrator, at the hearing.

Reiter is in poor shape, with cracking that allows water to seep into the building and some features that date back to the 1920s, said Bill Corfield, a representative from Vitetta, an architectural and engineering firm that performed an assessment of the district’s two elementary schools, Reiter and the smaller Grandview.

If the Reiter building and property are sold, the remaining two schools could use the money for renovation, board President William Hellmann has said. Vitetta is starting the design phase for renovating the high school soon and the board has directed the firm to look at fixing problems in Grandview as well.

Renovating Reiter’s structural issues and physical systems, including windows, boilers, electrical, plumbing and lighting, would cost about $4 million. Renovating Grandview would cost about $2.6 million.

“Grandview is not large enough for the children we have. I haven’t seen a long-term plan to place students,” said Johanny Manning, a former school board member who has a child in Reiter. She said the cur rent situation crams elementary students into makeshift classrooms, and doesn’t allow for proper instruction in either core subjects or extras, like music or art.

After the hearing, the board cannot make any decisions about closing Reiter for at least 90 days, according to the school code. District solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick encouraged residents to submit written opinions about the proposed closing by Monday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. to contribute to the public hearing record. The opinions can be given to the administrative offices at 550 West Palmer St.

Financial problems have plagued the district for years, with previous boards trying different options to provide a quality education in better buildings. The current board is looking into possibly housing preK though grade eight in the high school building, a plan that requires sending grades nine through 12 to other districts on a paid tuition basis.

Fitzpatrick said at the Wednesday board meeting that he has not gotten “entirely positive” responses from neighboring districts about this proposition.

About 855 students currently attend school in Morrisville’s three buildings.

Though parent Elvin Velez did not give testimony at the hearing, he said he’d like to see a consolidated school done properly.

“As a taxpayer, it could be cumbersome, but that’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “We could pull through this as a community to find solutions.”