There's No Place Like Home

From the Intelligencer.

"There is no sense of community between the students and parents of Riegelsville and the school district in Easton. There is a sense of loneliness and isolation that is very detrimental to their education..."

Glad we don't have that here in Morrisville. Or will we?

Riegelsville makes case for school district move
By: AMANDA CREGAN
The Intelligencer

The Riegelsville Tax and Education Coalition argued there's no sense of community with Easton schools.

Kids' birthday parties, baseball games and PTA meetings are just a slice of what makes up a rural community, but decades of lost moments and relationships that often grow from those events have taken their toll on Riegelsville parents.

They say the divide they must endure between their quiet borough and the urban Easton Area School District miles away is hurting their children.

Residents united in a show of force in a Bucks County courtroom Monday in their continued battle to allow Riegelsville children to attend Palisades School District.

It was an opportunity to explain the disconnect they feel because the majority of Riegelsville students are bused across county lines into Northampton County to attend Easton schools, even passing through neighboring Wilson School District.

Monday's hearing before Bucks County Judge Clyde Waite was the Riegelsville Tax and Education Coalition's second chance to present its argument why students living in the Upper Bucks community would be better off to attend Palisades, a 10-minute drive, rather than the Easton district, a 30-minute drive.

A state appeals court allowed the group this repeat opportunity. Transcripts of Monday's expert and resident testimony will be presented to state Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak, who must again make a ruling.

He had previously ruled against the Riegelsville coalition, but this time around he's been ordered by Commonwealth Court to make a new decision based on the testimony and explain his reasoning.

Attorneys and superintendents from Palisades and Easton were present at the hearing, each party objecting to the Riegelsville transfer.

Coalition attorney James Sweeney called the relationship between Riegelsville and Easton schools strange on Monday.

"There is no sense of community between the students and parents of Riegelsville and the school district in Easton. There is a sense of loneliness and isolation that is very detrimental to their education," he said.

Citing a tedious, dangerous school bus ride along Route 611; overcrowded, poorly performing Easton schools; an unwillingness of parents and students from the urban school district to socialize with Riegelsville families; and few opportunities for after-school activities because of the long commute, Sweeney argued that the 65 students from the 1-square-mile borough would be better served academically and socially at Palisades.

Riegelsville parents emphasized their kids are stressed because they straddle different worlds.

Borough children participate in community events and sports teams throughout the rural Palisades area and even practice on school fields. But they go to school in a different world.

Damian Newton says he can't explain to his third-grader why he doesn't know any of his classmates.

"It's very hard for him to socially interact with the kids who live on Southside. He says, 'Why do I have to go to class? I don't know anybody who goes to school.' "

The fight to transfer school districts is nearly unprecedented.

"We're embarking on relatively unchartered territory here," said Judge Waite. "The statute itself has not been amended in decades."

Although Waite urges a fast resolution for community members, documents will be delivered to Harrisburg in a couple of weeks, and there is no time limit for

The state education secretary to make a final ruling.

Amanda Cregan can be reached at 215-538-6371 or acregan@phillyBurbs.com.

March 24, 2009 02:40 AM