October 12, 2009

 

     As enrollment continues to plummet at a rundown Northern Tier high school, the school district tries to figure out if renovations are worth it.
     North Penn High School in Blossburg needs tens of millions of dollars in upgrades.
     So, the school board is weighing its options to save some money.
     Those options include shutting down North Penn and relocating the students to the other two high schools in the district.
     School board meetings have become a community hot spot while the board takes up the heavy issue.
     The issue of consolidating the Southern Tioga School District's three high schools has been a hot topic since last year.
     The school board has narrowed the options from nine to three, but school board members say they have a lot of work to do before they can vote on a plan for the district.
     “Not only is there a financial impact but a community impact, closing down any of our schools would be very big in the community,” said Superintendent Joe Kalata.
     North Penn High School in Blossburg needs about $25 million in renovations.
     But with enrollment decreasing across the district, and Tioga County, Kalata says the board needs to figure out if the upgrades are worth it.
     Local residents are also wary of spending the money.
     “In ten years is there really enough enrollment to put in to the school and how will that affect the sports, they’re both really good questions,” said Andrea Davey, who has two kids in the school district.
      There are a lot of unanswered questions and that's why the board says it won't make a decision until next February or March.
     If the board does vote to shut down North Penn High School, those students will be split between Liberty and Mansfield high schools.
     “It could be beneficial because there would be more people to work with and collaborate with,” said 8th grader, Austin Harris. “It would be good to have more students here, it would give us more opportunities.”
     Kalata says the board is looking into how the North Penn students would be relocated and what that would mean for the sports teams.
     He expects to bring rough sketch of those details to the next board meeting in November.