Chambersburg superintendent to board: Close 2 schools

The fate of Marion and Coldbrook elementary schools is to be decided at next week's Chambersburg Area school board meeting.

[Janie]

Marion is not a "neighborhood" school. Marion is a separate community from Chambersburg and should have its own community school. I don't live in the area but I sure hate to see another small town lose its school and the children forced to travel further to school. Elementary-age children should be able to attend school as close to home as possible.

[grnshirt]

It would be interesting to conduct a study on the average grades between the smaller and larger elementary schools. Of course variables would need to be entered into the study. Just a thought.

[Ol Barney]

Instead of getting rid of Marion & Coldbrook, maybe we should get rid of Padasak and realize some HUGE financial savings.

I would like to see numbers that breakout the costs per student for EACH of the elementary schools. Then we can make an INTELLIGENT decision based on facts, not just on Padasak's guesses. If Steve Dart (Business Manager) doesn't have these numbers, then he's not doing his job.

If we fill up all classrooms in the district, that leaves us with NO excess capacity. If Padasak says we don't have funds to provide new classrooms, then what do we do when the elementary population increases, and we have no classrooms available ... DUH !!!

[PA Driver]

We've constructed new elementary schools on the east and west side of town. Should we have or should we plan to contruct one of the south side and maybe even the north side? This way the students would be able to stay in their "neighborhoods" and the district would be able to pay/recoup costs for the construction from the closing of the other elementary schools.

[Just one person]

This follows CASD's existing M.O. of neglecting facilities until they are in such poor shape that they need replacement or closing.

Need a new sports complex but can't justify it? Neglect it for 7 years then you have your justification. Want a brand new school in Scotland or the West end of Chambersburg? Neglect them until you need to rebuild them. Want to close some schools like Duffield, Portico, Marion, Coldbrook, and Mary B. Sharpe? Let them waste away until there's no alternative.

[agreed]

Just one person wrote:

This follows CASD's existing M.O. of neglecting facilities until they are in such poor shape that they need replacement or closing.
Need a new sports complex but can't justify it? Neglect it for 7 years then you have your justification. Want a brand new school in Scotland or the West end of Chambersburg? Neglect them until you need to rebuild them. Want to close some schools like Duffield, Portico, Marion, Coldbrook, and Mary B. Sharpe? Let them waste away until there's no alternative.

AMEN to that!!!

[BREAL]

As a former Marion student 20 some years ago, it would be very sad to see the school closed. I lived close to two schools and my parents sent me to Marion and now looking back i loved the small town feeling and it was a great school to attend. By closing the school you would have to bus kids further away and i'm sure that would make class sizes even bigger in these other schools which would leave less time to help students one on one.

[CONCERN CITIZEN]

What happen to teaching our children in smaller class sizes, to give them more help in each class, if we move all these children to larger classes we are going to have alot of children missing the extra support and the one on one the teacher is suppose to give. Money should be the last thing to think about, education should be first.................

[leaving]

Thanks to all this garbage about closing MY CHILDRENS school (marion) my family will be moving.(OUT OF THIS STATE). I refuse to put my younger daughters in an over populated school. THIS IS AWEFUL!!!!!!!!!!

[Busing]

What is the additional yearly cost of busing the students? What will be saved by laying off all the teachers, custodial, suport and nursing staff at the two schools. What will become of the two properties? Will they be sold to 'private' parties so they go back on the tax roll or will they sit empty until a board member's family cousin third removed agrees to take it off our hands for one dollar? We do not need another Chambersburg High School fiasco like downtown slapping us in the face for the next thirty years. Will this better serve our future needs should year round schooling be passed? A lot of questions need to be answered prior to a vote. Have you not already made up your minds? I'm sure you have, as always.

[Reality Bytes]

Ahhh, OOPS!

"Padasak said the administration has been looking at ways to cut costs without eliminating staff as the school district is in a $4 million budget deficit."

So, they go and build a new stadium, new field, new track, new senior high addition, a few new elementaries, buy some property out of the borough, add some new teacher positions and now OOPS - they are WAY out of money and maybe can't pay for it all.

They have now officially made the comment they have bitten off more than the taxpayers can 'chew.'

Thank you very much for the fine mess you've gotten us into now, Ollie, LOL.

[get real]

They won't look at transportation until the kids are sent to the new schools they don't think about all of that stuff first. They just make stupid ***
decisions and then sit back and let the student suffer because they are spending their entire day on a bus. IT'S THE TRUTH!!

[Shaking my Head]

Joe needs to go. He's nothing but a bully. He wants to turn Chambersburg school district into a "big box" school system like all of the warehouses around here. If the school board had a backbone they would stop voting with him.

[Hilda]

I cannot believe I am saying this but, I completely agree with Dr. Joe. I also agree that we need to re-district instead of driving kids by schools that are closer to their homes. Re-districting is long overdue!

[Sam]

".....the school district is in a $4 million budget deficit."

How and when did this happen??

Who is responsible??

[Marion Resident]

Marion operating cost is only $45,000. There is no immediate or emergency repair needed. So why close it now? It's hard to believe the district is paying this guy a LARGE salary and this is the best he can do. What a JOKE!!! All this for $45,000. I wonder if they even looked into any grants etc.. to fix the roof and windows. My bet is NOT!!! They probably feel it's much easier just spending and building new.

[The Truth]

I was for keeping Marion open but I did a little research more than half of the Student body of Marion does not come from Marion but from Chambersburg. Parents don't want to send thier kids to Thadeous Stevens so they bus them to Marion. It's a gotto go situation

[Concerned parent]

Don't forget Faust, that school needs to be razed. Th middle school age kids in the area need a fresh start, including a new school administraion.

[SAHMof3]

I am not a fan of busing students at all. I chose to live in a certain area b.c I wanted my children to be by other families like us. Parents who care. Parents who want to see their kids succeed. I dont agree with letting my child be taught at the level of the lowest child in the class so everyone can be equal. I work hard to make sure my kids succeed and being told they are the same as kids who's parents kids let them slide by on little to no effort is not fair. REDISTRICT it all!!

[Keith]

Shaking my Head wrote:

Joe needs to go. He's nothing but a bully. He wants to turn Chambersburg school district into a "big box" school system like all of the warehouses around here. If the school board had a backbone they would stop voting with him.

You Are Right. The school board is afraid of him. He must go and the school board along with him.