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Resident tells Montoursville board it is moving too quickly on Valley School; says community outreach lacking
Summary
Ron Snell, a resident and taxpayer, told the school board he believes the district is "putting the cart in front of the horse," alleging a lack of community outreach and saying consultant hires suggest a decision to close the Valley School is already made. The board scheduled town halls and a public hearing on elementary schools.
Ron Snell, a Montoursville resident, told the school board that he and others have seen insufficient community outreach about possible consolidation affecting the Valley School and that district actions make it appear a decision has been made.
"You appear to be moving forward with closing the Valley like the vote has already been made," Snell said during public comment, citing prior community meetings where, he said, the consensus was to keep the Valley School open and noting that the board previously voted to engage Crabtree Rohrbaugh and Associates to design additions and renovations for Leiter Elementary.
Snell said he had not observed the state-required hearing process or the promised public outreach and asked whether upcoming meetings are intended to listen to residents or merely to create the appearance of listening. He also referenced an agenda item to authorize additional spending for SiteLogic to provide information to the district and its design team for Leiter Elementary.
Board members did not provide a direct response in the transcript to Snell’s questions; later in the meeting administrators announced town-hall dates and a planned public hearing on elementary schools. The district listed town-hall meetings for Dec. 9 (Gamble Township), Dec. 10 (Plunkett's Fire Hall), Dec. 11 (Boyle Sauk Valley) and Dec. 12 (Leiter), all at 7 p.m., and said it is aiming for a public hearing on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in the high-school auditorium.
The district also told the board Crabtree Rohrbaugh and Associates is engaged to study Leiter Elementary and said Wellesauk (sic) Valley has been studied and is under contract for Loyola Sauk (sic) Valley Elementary; administrators said they are pushing toward a decision to support planning needs. The public hearing and town halls provide formal opportunities for community input before any formal board action.
