Upper Darby School District administrators told the Finance and Operations Committee on Tuesday that they are proposing to close Charles Kelley Elementary School and redistrict students to nearby district‑owned buildings, and they asked the board to authorize a formal, advertised closure hearing beginning in January.

The presentation focused on short‑term elementary redistricting intended to eliminate leased space and to move students into Upper Darby‑owned schools. District officials said students in grades 1–5 from Charles Kelley would be reassigned to Highland Park and Stonehurst Hills elementary schools, while kindergarten students from the affected catchment would continue to attend the district kindergarten center. Administrators said they would advertise a closure hearing no later than Jan. 13, 2025, hold the hearing on Jan. 28, 2025 (5 p.m.), keep the public comment record open for at least 90 days, and return to the board for a possible closure vote at the April 29, 2025 committee/board meeting.

Administrators emphasized the proposal is intended to reduce reliance on leased, non‑district facilities and to preserve staffing levels within the district. “No one will be losing their job with this proposed movement,” the presentation said, and the administration described plans to reassign eight full‑time equivalent positions from Charles Kelley to fill vacancies elsewhere (three reading specialists, two ESL teachers, two special‑education teachers and one classroom teacher) for the 2025–26 school year.

Why it matters: school leaders framed the change as a facilities and fiscal decision tied to leases, long‑running facility plans, and funding uncertainty. The district said the current Charles Kelley lease is expiring and that continuing to invest in a building the district does not own has limits; administrators estimated roughly $460,000 in annual savings from ending the lease (leasing payments, insurance, cleaning and basic maintenance) if students move back into district‑owned schools.

Key details presented by the administration:
- Student shifts (approximate, administration figures): Eronimic/Aronimic Elementary would gain about 90 students; Stonehurst Hills would gain about 100 students; Highland Park would lose about 60 students. (Presenter: Doctor Lambert/administration.)
- Transportation: administrators said 100% of Charles Kelley students are currently transported by six school buses and that the proposed reassignments would result in a net reduction of approximately 55 bus‑eligible students district‑wide. The district said any freed bus capacity would likely be used for special‑education transportation rather than producing an immediate budgetary savings.
- Staffing: eight FTEs at Charles Kelley are intended to be reallocated to district vacancies; the administration expressly said staff would remain district employees and that the change is not a layoff plan.
- Timeline: if the board approves authorization tonight to advertise a hearing, the ad would run no later than Jan. 13, the hearing would be Jan. 28, public comment would remain open at least 90 days (to Apr. 29), and a board vote to close the building could occur as early as Apr. 29, 2025. Staff notification of any final decision would follow immediately after a board vote.

Board reaction and next steps: after questions from directors about class‑size guidelines, feeder patterns and how families will find their new catchment assignments, the committee indicated consensus to move the item forward to the special voting meeting so the district may advertise and hold the required closure hearing. Administrators said they will prepare street‑by‑street catchment attachments to accompany policy 206 if the process advances and will hold home‑and‑school and community meetings after the hearing is advertised.

What was not decided: no final vote to close Charles Kelley occurred at this meeting. The committee’s action was to allow the administration and solicitor to take steps to advertise and hold the statutorily required hearing; any final decision on closure would follow the advertised public comment period and a board vote.

Context and background: the administration reviewed a facilities study completed in 2023, described long‑running efforts since 2015–2016 to reduce modular classrooms and consolidate neighborhood attendance, and noted broader funding pressures the district faces. Administrators also noted the long timeline for past major facility projects in the district (for example, a new middle school in Clifton Heights) and described the proposal as an effort to preserve staffing and better align students with district‑owned buildings.

What to watch next: the board’s special voting meeting (to authorize advertising) and the Jan. 28, 2025 advertised hearing are the next formal milestones. The April 29, 2025 board meeting is the date flagged by administration for a potential final vote on closure following the minimum 90‑day comment period.