Montoursville Area SD holds hearing on proposed closure of Loyalsock Valley Elementary School

Richard Gault, the school district solicitor, opened a public hearing on the proposed closing of Loyalsock Valley Elementary School and said the board is following a provision of the state school code that requires a public hearing at least three months before any decision on permanently closing a public school.

Superintendent Darren Taramino told attendees the district is considering closure and consolidation for three reasons: aging facilities, declining elementary enrollment and to control costs for taxpayers. He said Loyalsock Valley was built in 1961 and last underwent a major renovation in 1983. “We just can’t afford that, to take on that amount of debt,” Taramino said, referring to a SiteLogic estimate that maintaining two elementary schools under a 10‑year maintenance plan would cost about $36,600,000.

Taramino reported current elementary enrollment of roughly 575 students districtwide and said enrollment has been trending downward; district projections presented at the hearing showed enrollment declining toward about 500 students by 2028–29. He said consolidation would preserve classroom sizes, add 16,509 square feet for kindergarten and classrooms at the receiving school, and keep athletic fields and green space on the site plan.

Under the consolidation plan described by Taramino, the district would fund the project at an estimated $20,800,000 by borrowing $15,000,000 and using $6,000,000 from the capital fund. He said the plan is designed so it would not require a tax increase and would achieve over $400,000 in operational savings; staff reductions, he said, would occur only through attrition and retirement, not layoffs.

Taramino said the district had prepared two estimates related to the Loyalsock property: an estimated $405,200 in costs if the district retains the property, and about $419,363 in savings if the property can be sold, reflecting operational and salary/benefit reductions. He said the district will seek grant opportunities to offset debt and that borrowing $15,000,000 would add roughly four additional years to debt‑service payments but keep overall debt‑service largely flat.

Taramino acknowledged traffic and bus routing as major community concerns. He said the district will attempt to move drop‑off and pick‑up onto the consolidated property when possible, will re‑evaluate bus routes to limit student time on buses to under an hour, and has contracted Levick Civil, a local firm, to conduct a traffic study to measure impacts on the surrounding block.

On process, Taramino said the district has opened a 90‑day public comment period and that the board plans to vote on the proposal at a work session on April 22, 2025. If the board approves consolidation and construction proceeds on schedule, he said the new combined elementary school could open in fall 2027 and Loyalsock Valley would close in June 2027.

One member of the public, Mike Beaver, asked whether an estimate for installing a sprinkler system at Loyalsock Valley was available. Taramino replied, “I do not have that number with me…we can’t give an actual cost unless the project is put out to bid,” adding that the district does have an estimate but not a final cost without bids.

The solicitor marked proof of publication for the hearing as exhibits for the record and asked that a hard copy of the superintendent’s presentation be provided to the court reporter as exhibit C. After one public commenter, Gault closed the public comment period and adjourned the hearing. The board made no decision at the hearing; the next procedural step is the 90‑day comment period leading up to the April 22, 2025 vote.