Pennsbury Approves Building New High School

FALLSINGTON, PA —The Pennsbury School District will be getting a new high school.

Following a three-hour meeting Thursday night in which about 10 community members spoke out, the Pennsbury School Board voted to approve building a new high school over renovating the high school's West campus.

In an 8-1 vote, the school board approved going forward on a new high school that cost could anywhere from $250 million to $277 million. The vote authorizes the school district to hire an architect and get the building going on a school that would open for the 2029 school year.

Newly re-elected school board member Jim Prokopiak voted against the measure, saying he was the voice for senior citizens and those who cannot afford the additional taxes that a new school could bring.

Before the vote, Council President TR Kannan asked whether future student enrollment, inflation, and taxes had been considered and was told that all had.

"It was important to hear different opinions," Kannan said. "We heard from experts and the engineer, and about taxes. When you go to the new high school stadium, there's an ambiance. Kids are happy playing there with the new bleachers and new turf. This is one of the most important decisions of our term. This will impact our 6th and 7th graders. It doesn't end there, 700 kids will go through this high school each year."

School Board Vice President Gary Sanderson, in his final vote of a school board term that's lasted 16 years, called the decision "something that we have to do." Sanderson was defeated in the Nov. 7 general election.

Jeannine Delwiche, who was re-elected, said that she hoped that the Pennsbury West campus could be renovated, but "unfortunately I saw a school that can't be fixed" she said of a recent tour there.

School board member Chip Taylor, who was also re-elected, said that the school board covered every aspect of the project and that "West is like a sardine can when you go in there."

"A new school gives us a 20-year runway," Taylor said.

School board member Lois Lambing said that the new high school can serve as "the gem of the community," and a source of pride where community activities can take place.

She also stressed the "pressing need" for a new high school due to the safety of students and staff in an aging infrastructure with "moldy, leaky and dilapidated buildings."

Prokopiak said that the new high school puts such a financial burden on some of the residents in towns like Falls Township and Tullytown as opposed to Lower Makefield Township, which has an average median housing of $159,000.

He said Falls Township is $86,000 and Tullytown is somewhere in the $60,000 range. Prokopiak said his life was uprooted when he was growing up after his family moved to a school district where taxes were less.

He said that for Falls Township residents, the tax increase for the new high school would be $189 more a year and that's just in the first year of the project.

"Well over 60 percent of our population doesn't have a child in the school district," he said. "These are challenging times and these costs are extensive and are going to have a real impact on people."