Coldbrook, 2 other Chambersburg schools likely to close when new school opens

March 13, 2008|By DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Coldbrook Elementary School in Chambersburg will likely close along with two other borough schools when Benjamin Chambers Elementary opens late this year or in early 2009.

The Chambersburg School Board Wednesday night heard three proposals for realigning the district's elementary schools in the 2009-10 school year in an effort to bring more balance to the socioeconomic mix of the schools and keep class sizes consistent.

"Two of our schools are at 96 percent free and reduced lunch," said Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Services Catherine Dusman, indicating a concentration of lower-income students. The schools themselves are often unequal, she said, with some older schools lacking gymnasiums, cafeterias and modern libraries.

"We as an administration want to close Coldbrook and want to do it as soon as possible," Superintendent Joseph Padasak told the board. "As soon as Benjamin Chambers School opens."

Padasak said the district will have the classroom space necessary to close the small elementary school once Chambers opens.

Coldbrook presents a number of problems, Padasak said. It has no air conditioning, cafeteria or gymnasium, its library is in a trailer and the building has been cited for fire code violations, he said.

Closing Coldbrook fit into realignment Proposal II that Dusman reviewed for the board, although her presentation called for combining Coldbrook and Marion at Stevens, a school capable of being expanded.

Proposal I called for creating kindergarten centers at the Stevens and Guilford Hills schools. That would require shifting attendance areas for a number of schools, Dusman said.

Grades one through five at Stevens would be distributed to South Hamilton, Hamilton Heights, Benjamin Chambers, Buchanan and Marion, according to the presentation. Those students from Guilford Hills would be split between Fayetteville and Falling Spring.

"Two kindergarten centers make for a whole lot of shifting," Dusman said.

Proposal III was to create primary and intermediate centers at South Hamilton and Stevens. Kindergarten through second-grade students who now attend those schools would go to South Hamilton with grades three through five going to Stevens.

"I'm not thrilled with options one or three ... The less transitions for students the better," board member Stanley Helman said. Those plans moved students from school to school rather than allowing them to get through elementary school in one building.

Board members voiced some support for Proposal II and wanted more details on Proposal I.

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