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The Council Rock School District is getting its master capital plan for the future in order and officials admit there is a lot of work to be completed.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Fraser took time during Thursday evening’s school board meeting to outline the district’s future and raise many of the questions the district will have to answer over the next two years.
“We are resetting. We’re at the starting gates for a master capital plan,” Fraser said during his presentation.
By the start of the 2018-2019 school year, the district that serves Newtown Borough, Newtown Township, Northampton, Wrightstown and Upper Makefield will have to make some big choices. At least one elementary school close along with Richboro Middle School, all levels of the school system will be redistricted and renovations and construction on Newtown Middle School and Holland Middle School will be completed.
The district will begin holding meetings starting in February 2017 to discuss the future of the district’s 10 kindergarten-sixth grade buildings. Fraser said the district will look at school capacity, enrollment numbers and projections, the local real estate market and other factors when making their decision.
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In the past, Council Rock has talked about closing Wrightstown Elementary School in Wrightstown or Rolling Hills Elementary School in Northampton. Wrightstown’s lone elementary school has been targeted due to it being the district’s smallest and most inefficient building.
Fraser also stated the board will have to decide whether to sell or repurpose Richboro Middle School in Northampton. The school is planned to close in 2018. The superintendent made it clear that “everything was on the table” for the property. Some possible reuses for Richboro Middle School include utilizing it for district operations, central offices and/or consolidating special programs into one building, Fraser said.
Redistrciting was another big topic talked about by Fraser.
“Redistricting will impact every school in the council rock school district,” Fraser said.
The superintendent said redistricting will include the public input along with that of district staff. The administration’s goal is to redistrict students only once and not twice.
A school board vote on redistricting will come early 2018.
As the district moves forward, plans for a potential limited full-day kindergarten program instead of full-day kindergarten at every elementary school will be examined, Fraser said.
Board member Denise Brooks thanked Fraser for putting together a presentation that “people can really wrap their heads around.”
Concerns about Council Rock and Fraser being able to carry out the large scale change without some outside help was discussed by board members Wendi Thomas and Edward Tate.
Fraser said he was not opposed to looking at options for outside help on the massive undertaking.
The goal for the master capital plan, according to Fraser, is to keep focus on the children.
