ASD Public Hearing Revisits School Decision Thursday

by Jonathan Weaver

 

While construction of the new Armstrong Junior-Senior High School in Manor Township is well-underway, taxpayers and community leaders in Kittanning and Ford City Boroughs still worry what to do with the long-time community schools when they close.

Another opportunity for them to express their opinions before Armstrong School District board directors will be held this Thursday at Lenape Elementary School in Ford City.

At 7PM Thursday, a public hearing as to whether or not to permanently close Ford City Junior-Senior High School, Kittanning Senior High School and/or Kittanning Junior High School prior to the start of 2015-2016 school term will be held.

Students at all three schools will move to the new school complex along Buffington Drive for the August start date. Kittanning and Ford City attendance areas will combine to form the student body of about 1,775 7th-12th grade students.

All three affected schools are also classified as Keystone Opportunity Zones (which allows 10 years of tax-free status to incoming businesses), but no bidders have been publicly named for the properties.

In the past, closed school buildings have also been offered to their home municipalities for as low as $1 – including Burrell Elementary, West Kittanning Elementary and Worthington High School. West Kittanning had converted its school into their Borough building before it was torn down and replaced, and Worthington utilizes the former high school as a community civic center.

Borough Councils in both municipalities have been concerned on the tax revenue that might be lost after the schools close.

Ford City Borough Planning Commission members have also discussed the topic and hope to gauge opinions of elected officials.

“I think the meeting needs to be scheduled sooner-rather-than-later because we have eight months until school will end, and we need to know the County’s plan, the school district’s plan and our plan of attack,” former member Tyson Klukan (a 2010 Ford City graduate) said in October. “We need to blend all those plans into a funnel.”
Even though Klukan received interest converting the building into a borough community center, Klukan thought the structure would be too much of a burden on taxpayers.

“It’s going to cost millions and millions (of dollars) to update that building,” Klukan said at the time. “They make great points, and I value their opinion, but we need a cost analysis of everything.”

Klukan, Member Cody Atherton – also a Ford City High graduate - and Councilman Gene Banks agreed that they do not want the building to turn into low-income housing.

Kittanning Borough officials projected about $25,000 in tax revenue – including the earned income tax and real estate taxes - will be lost just this calendar year. Elected officials also will not see revenue from per capita taxes anymore, as the $10 tax per year was eliminated at the beginning of the year.