Neshaminy taxpayers voice concerns, support for new school plan at Maple Point

Neshaminy School District residents and taxpayers had their say about a proposal to build a $43 million elementary school on the existing Maple Point campus, and the reviews were mixed.

Some were concerned with traffic. Others with more vacant district buildings. And some supported new construction for efficiency over costly repairs and a new school in the north end.

The hearing Dec. 2 was part of the process of what could eventually be a new school, and the public can continue to comment for a couple more weeks into the new year.

As part of its “Neshaminy Road Map” project started in 2014, the school district has considered either investing into renovating Pearl S. Buck Elementary School or building a new elementary school in the north part of the district.

Officials are pursing the new construction with a plan to build a school on the same lot as the existing Maple Point Middle School near Woodbourne and Langhorne-Yardley roads.

Pearl S. Buck was built in 1968 and hasn’t been significantly renovated since its construction, said Neshaminy Superintendent Rob McGee.

The former Oliver Heckman Elementary School, which still sits vacant on Cherry Street in Langhorne, was the north end’s only elementary school prior to its permanent closure in 2016.

While not a public board or committee meeting — there was neither a board vote nor an exchange of dialogue between the community and board members — the Dec. 2 hearing offered taxpayers a chance to comment on the project’s updates.

It wasn’t the first time the public has heard about the proposed project, noted former school board president Stephen Pirritano, as Neshaminy has kept them in the loop via past public board meetings and public notices published by this news organization.

Solicitor John Torrente of law firm Begley, Carlin and Mandio said the new school is estimated at a maximum project cost, which is $43,364,152, and the maximum building construction cost of $34,621,642.

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McGee explained the reasons Neshaminy felt a new elementary school was needed in favor of renovating Pearl S. Buck.

Over the past decade as the district consolidated due to decreased enrollment and aging facilities, Neshaminy has had 10 elementary schools, four middle schools and one high school.

The district now has six elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school. “Once we got to that size, we began moving around the district improving our facilities as far as HVAC, windows, doors, etc. to make sure that they were up to standards,” McGee said.

Following the construction of the $31 million Tawanka Elementary School that opened during the 2016-17 school year, officials are now aiming to address the lack of an elementary school in the north part of the district.

The district has opted to potentially build a new school on an unused lot over interrupting the education of kindergarten through fourth-grade students over a three-year construction period at Pearl S. Buck.

“The next step is (that) once this is complete and we're financially able to do it, we move to Levittown and evaluate those schools there, go through the same process (of) what it costs to bring it up to speed physically, educationally, and size-wise and compare that to a potential new structure,” McGee said.

Pirritano added that new bus routes could greatly improve some of the traffic issues in the area.

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“By decommissioning the Buck building and moving it to this location, it changes geographically the transportation where (it’s) closer to the families that go to the school, so it does cut down the bus routes,” McGee agreed.

Officials also highlighted a project description, site plan and floor plan from the Spiezle Architectural Group during the meeting.

One nearby resident opposed the new school plan.

She’s “absolutely against” the project due to concerns about children’s safety crossing the street in an area where she says people “fly around the crossing guard (at) 60 miles an hour.” The woman described herself as a lifelong Neshaminy resident who lives across from Maple Point.

“I implore you to talk to other agencies to make sure whenever kids are crossing over, all these little babies to elementary school kids are going to be safe getting over here once you build the school,” she said.

John Curry, who wrote the school board prior to the meeting, said in his letter that he’s “wholeheartedly against” the plan and also voiced his traffic concerns.

He noted that Maple Point Middle School already creates a lot of traffic, which could be worsened by approximately 600 students attending a new school on the same lot.

The Neshaminy graduate also referenced the former Oliver Heckman Elementary School building that has sat vacant since 2016.

“An entire neighborhood has a vacant property in it; now, the current board is wishing to close a school, leave it vacant and build a new one,” said Curry.

“I don't disagree that Buck needs a few upgrades, but now I'm about to have a vacant building in my neighborhood for who knows how long,” he said, calling the proposed plan “mismanagement at its finest” by the school board.

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Former Neshaminy School Board member Mark Shubin, who was involved with the “Neshaminy Road Map” project during his tenure, spoke in support of the new school.

He said placing an elementary school in that area makes “tremendous sense,” especially when considering past efforts to revitalize aging buildings.

“We just continue to pour money into those buildings, and it becomes very much a diminishing return,” Shubin said.

Opting to renovate older schools places a burden on future school boards, he added, who will have to spend their “very limited” resources on fixing up those buildings.

Shubin used Neshaminy High School as an example.

“I think everybody can agree that we should have built a new high school based on the kind of money we're sinking into that building today,” he said.

“When we build new, we can take advantage of all the efficiencies and modern capabilities of the buildings from an HVAC perspective, an environmental perspective, and also build a facility that maximizes the usage for our students with the most modern and up-to-date equipment,” he said.

A review of the new elementary school building is on the agenda of Neshaminy’s Dec. 15 finance committee meeting.

The public can submit written comments about the project to the school board up until Jan. 3.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Neshaminy residents weigh in on new school at Maple Point in Middletown