Doylestown Council Passes Resolution In Support Of Linden Elementary

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Doylestown Borough Council on Monday night voted unanimously to approve a resolution urging the Central Bucks School Board to revisit the recommendation to close Linden Elementary.

In the joint resolution signed by council and by Mayor Noni West, they also call on the district to conduct "a transparent, public process in which the Doylestown Borough community can provide input that will demonstrate that Linden Elementary School should not only remain open, but be celebrated and supported as an example of what is best in the Central Bucks School District and in public education."

The neighborhood elementary school located in the southeast corner of the borough has been identified as a potential candidate for closure in an "Enrollment, Capacity and Attendance Boundary Study" conducted by Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates and paid for by the Central Bucks School District.

The study examined the district's population trends, building utilization and capacity limits for each of the district's 23 schools and made two recommendations - a grade realignment of the district's elementary, middle and high schools and the closure of Linden Elementary, the adjustment of attendance boundaries and the redistribution of students to Doyle and Kutz elementary schools.

"When schools operate below 80 percent capacity, they are considered to be educationally and financially inefficient; therefore, redistributing students to achieve balance is recommended and even essential," said Superintendent Dr. Abram Lucabaugh last fall in an update to the district.

"These moves will provide a significant cost savings that can be reinvested into programs and service across the district, benefiting students and teachers, while improving the financial return for taxpayers," said the superintendent.

The school district has scheduled a special meeting to review the study and its recommendations and provide an update to the community on Thursday, April 27 beginning at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Central Bucks High School West.

"Over the past several months district officials have continued to assess enrollment and community housing trends, as well as the changing composition of our student population, in consultation with CRA's recommendations," said Lucabaugh. "The goal of the April 27 meeting is to provide our community with an update regarding available options, recommendations for action, a timeline of next steps and an overview of how we can best implement a plan that ensures optimal use of our facilities and academic programming that leads to improved outcomes for our students."

More than 70 Linden supporters attended council's March meeting asking for the borough's governing body to pass a resolution opposing any possible closure of the school.

In its resolution, the council is critical of the recommendation, saying it was based on enrollment, infrastructure costs and land values and not on student welfare, academic achievement or community needs.

"Since 1959 Linden Elementary has been one of the best elementary schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing unique programs while ranking in the top eight percent, per Niche rankings," reads the borough's resolution.

"Linden not only provides a strong public education, it is a true, walkable, 'neighborhood school,' fostering strong relationships among students, teachers, staff, families, and neighborhoods, and is an integral part of the fabric of our broader community," the resolution continues.

In addition, the resolution says, "Linden is a vital component of Doylestown Borough's quality of life, attracting young families, promoting community, and enhancing property values."

The council also notes in its resolution that the community is in the midst of the largest housing boom in over a decade with nearly 300 housing units under construction, that will in turn generate more potential enrollment.

"Alternatives to a closure that would have a devastating impact on children, families, and the Doylestown community have yet to be publicly vetted as the uncertainty regarding Linden's future potentially depresses kindergarten enrollment," says the resolution.