Hearing To Help Decide Ambler School's Fate

The fate of Mattison Avenue Elementary School in Ambler may be partially decided during a two-part public hearing in October.

The board of the Wissahickon School District on Monday approved an advertisement for the October 1 and October 8 sessions at the Wissahickon High School auditorium in order to "receive input, comments, and other information related to the possible permanent closure" of the school. Both sessions will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The school district's administration following the 2012-13 school year. 172 students currently attend the school.

Several parents who have previously stated their public objections to the closure appeared before the school board again on Monday.

Christine DeLaurentis of Ambler, whose children attend the school, said that the administration had not "shared its rationale" for closing the school with the public. She asked the board to postpone any hearing on the school's fate until a community input group that had been organized in response to the closure recommendation could review the administration's position.

"The public cannot intelligently comment on any possible plans to close [the school] until the administration's rationale is shared," DeLaurentis said. DeLaurentis walked out of the meeting after the board voted unanimously to schedule the hearing.

John Kunzier of Ambler said the school district was obliged to make the fiscal case for closing the school to meet its responsibilities to the district's taxpayers.

"I want to know when that analysis is going to happen so that we, as the public, can understand your justification. I, as a taxpayer, have the right to ask for that from a board that was elected and that is funded out of my tax dollars," Kunzier said.

Neither the board nor the administration responded directly to any of the public comments on Monday.

Board solicitor Scott Wolpert said the board was legally required to wait at least three months after the October hearing before deliberating on the administration's recommendation to close the school.

"If there's a closure decision, there must be 60 days written notice to affected employees as required by law. In addition, there must be notice to the Pennsylvania Department of Education from the superintendent. There's a defined process under the school code that will be followed," Wolpert said.