Costs outweigh benefits of new school
Lehighton School District is planning on spending $32.5 million to build a single structure near the high school for all elementary students so they can close four elementary schools (Mahoning, East Penn, Franklin and Shull-David). I've been slow to weigh in on the Lehighton school board's plan to build a new elementary center, as I wanted to get the facts from several sources first. Let me explain concisely why we should all be against it.
These four aging schools were built during the baby boom era, and it made sense to have elementary schools near the communities they serve. Enrollment is declining (projections are they will for the foreseeable future) but the benefit to having an elementary school near your home remains unchanged. It seems obvious that fewer students per classroom is an advantage to both child and teacher.
Busing all children to one location is no advantage; in fact it is a clear liability. It has long been understood that separating the youngest children from the older prevents exposure to drugs, violence, sexual activity and other behavioral issues. Let's be honest about costs; transportation is a hefty expense to the district, and in the Lehighton area kids are spread throughout the mountains to the point where busing them to outlying schools saves the taxpayer money.
Should this elementary center be built, many more kids face hourlong bus rides. That's each way, meaning that over 12 years of public schooling, that child will spend 180 full days on a school bus, the equivalent of three years of class time. At which point it becomes cost effective to put the teachers on the bus as well, and graduate the kids when they are 14.
Really.
Another consideration is that by losing the elementary school within your township, your property value decreases. Assuming you could even find a buyer, something I don't believe the school board has taken into consideration.
Yes, those old buildings need renovation. They will even if they were to be sold, as there are laws about asbestos that must be dealt with before a building can be put on the market. If the district must make these renovations anyway it hardly matters. One might ask why, if there are so many vacant businesses and storefronts on First Street, anyone would want to buy an elementary school in Mahoning Township?
School taxes in this district are comparatively high already, and likely to go higher regardless, but dropping $32.5 million on a building that hurts the community and benefits no one but the school board is a disservice to the people. Make no mistake; the schools are NOT all about the kids, they are rather all about the community they serve. If an administrator says otherwise, please set them straight about who pays the bills around here.
Lehighton School district has a population of 18,226 including children, the future taxpayers who will bear the brunt of any bad fiscal decisions we make today. So that $32.5 million expenditure (with interest) places an individual burden of about $6,800 on every single man, woman and baby in addition to any other costs the district incurs. Remember, we'll be fixing those existing elementary schools anyway, and they are unlikely to be sold for anything near actual value.
Now, I don't like demonizing any individual over this matter; I believe the school board is trying to do what they think best. The root problem is they are unclear who they should do best for. While administering to all kids in one place might be easier, it does not serve their families or the community in general. It only serves the board, and I hope they are not that myopic.
So I urge you to contact your school board right now BEFORE you get the bill, and find out why they think your child should ride a bus for an hour to attend classes alongside every other child in the district. Ask how every child in one building will help control the spread of disease or drug use. Ask them how much your taxes will decrease or how this will improve the level of education they receive. Find out how they plan to separate teenagers from toddlers on one bus. Ask how much they are asking for an elementary school in Franklin Township, and what use it might be to anyone besides the school district.
Then, please decide for yourself if the answers you get make sense to anyone with a clear mind.
Sincerely,
Mike Stanley
Concerned citizen
