Just goes to show how fast our area is growing and also how regional we have become!
WEST SHORE SCHOOLS
Proposal aims to avoid crowding
Monday, January 02, 2006
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News
The West Shore School District has a problem: The majority of students live in York County but the schools are in Cumberland County or near the Cumberland County line.
"Historically, that's where the people were, but it creates a problem in efficiently distributing our students among our schools," said Daniel W. Sheats, the district's director of special administrative services.
To correct the balance between students and buildings, the school district plans to realign its attendance boundaries beginning in the 2006-07 school year.
As a result of the realignment, some students might have to attend different schools next year.
"Our studies show that our current buildings have the capacity to house our current students and programs," Sheats said.
The West Shore district last changed its attendance boundaries in 1991.
Since then, the district has built three elementary schools and a middle school and has seen significant residential growth in some areas.
"We're growing but not at explosive rates," Sheats said. "Municipal officials tell us there will be more than 1,000 new residential units constructed over the next 10 years, and we have to take that into consideration.
"It's often difficult to get a handle on how development will impact our schools," he said.
"Town houses and condominiums historically don't generate the number of children that traditional housing does," he said.
Beginning this month, as part of its school boundary realignment study, the district will invite parents, students and residents to give feedback on the initial realignment draft proposal.
Committees of parents, teachers and administrators have been working on the proposal since October.
A draft of the proposal will be posted on the district Web site by the close of the business day Jan. 6, said Suzanne Tabachini, a district spokeswoman.
"One of the things we're looking to do is to balance the student populations as expeditiously as we can with our existing resources and to impact as few students as possible," Tabachini said.
"We want to provide the same educational opportunities to all our students, regardless of the school he or she attends."
Some schools are nearing capacity, while others can accommodate additional students, she said.
To make room for a larger-than-expected enrollment, the district might have to convert classrooms dedicated to art, music, special education or English as a second language classes into regular classrooms.
This could affect educational programs in a given building, Tabachini said.
A balanced student population among the district's 10 elementary schools, four middle schools and two high schools would mean equal educational opportunities in each building, she said.
"It is unlikely that all 16 schools will be impacted by the changes," Sheats said.
Newberry and Fishing Creek elementary schools, Crossroads Middle School and Cedar Cliff High School have growing capacity problems, Sheats said.
Fishing Creek and Newberry elementary schools are nearing capacity, but each school is within a few miles of Red Mill Elementary, which has available space.
The district could shift attendance numbers in those buildings.
The solution is not as simple at Crossroads and Cedar Cliff.
"It isn't simply a matter of moving a given number of students to a given building," Sheats said.
"We have to anticipate growth in the area where a given school is located and allow for an increase in student population."
Newberry and Fairview townships, which are in the Red Land High School attendance area, have experienced more residential growth than any other areas of the school district, he said.
The new attendance boundaries will remain in effect for at least five years.
"The only assurance we give families is that if a boundary line is changed, the change will remain in place for at least five years," Sheats said.
"That is the assurance that was given in 1991, when we did the last attendance boundary realignment," he said. "And that is the assurance we are giving people now. We have never told anyone that an attendance boundary will remain in place forever."
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Chocolate World upgrading:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...301.xml&coll=1
"...$5 million upgrade that will include the addition of three singing cows."
LOL
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