Posted by Annie Thorne, Co-Founder, Connect Edgmont
Rose Tree Media School District wants to build a new elementary school in Edgmont. We should want a school here, too.
The children of Edgmont Township haven’t attended elementary school in Edgmont since the Hanna Carr School closed in the 1980s. Today, young families are flocking to Edgmont, yet Edgmont kids are still bussed upwards of 45 minutes each way to schools in neighboring townships. These schools are at or over capacity and new housing developments mean District-wide enrollment will continue to increase in the coming years.
Rose Tree Media School District began planning for this increased enrollment in 2016. They compared the costs of renovating and expanding existing schools, they looked at bus ride times, and they researched where new developments were going to be built. They acknowledged that Edgmont is the only municipality in the District that does not have its own elementary school.
In 2020 the School Board voted unanimously to build a new elementary school on new land and in 2021 they announced this new school would be built on 37 acres along Middletown Road in Edgmont Township.
Edgmont residents are currently faced with an incredible opportunity. The School District is committed to building a new school and they are planning to build it in OUR township. Our children, our families, our property owners, and our community stand to benefit from this school. The School District is going to build a new school somewhere and we should want this school to be built in Edgmont.
Now that the Land Development Application has been submitted, it’s time for Edgmont residents to tell our elected officials why we support the new Edgmont Elementary School.
An Edgmont Elementary School will benefit Edgmont’s children. Edgmont kids will attend a state-of-the-art school designed with technology and modern learning in mind. Edgmont kids will enjoy shorter bus rides and live closer to their classmates. Edgmont parents will have easier access to the school to support their children’s extracurricular activities.
An Edgmont Elementary School will benefit Edgmont’s property owners. Data shows that homes in good school districts have higher property values. Proximity to a school, especially in a good school district, further increases property values. Buyers who have or plan to have children represent the majority of home buyers in our area and buyers with children want to be close to the school their children will attend.
An Edgmont Elementary School will strengthen the Edgmont community. Edgmont has no town center and few public spaces. Our Township is split in two by the State Park and our residents have mailing addresses in Newtown Square, Glen Mills and Media. A local elementary school will help foster an Edgmont identity and will provide residents access to a large meeting space, playgrounds, and a playing field.
An Edgmont Elementary School is a positive use for the 37-acre parcel on Middletown Road. We could be debating an 18-house subdivision which would only add to overcrowding and which would not benefit current residents. But instead, we’re talking about a public elementary school, a school that will directly benefit Edgmont’s children, Edgmont’s property owners and Edgmont’s community.
Recognizing the benefits of the school, we should now be asking “How can Edgmont best protect its residents from the challenges a new elementary school might present?”
How will car and bus traffic be accommodated on site and on our local roads? How will the appearance of the building complement the semi-rural look of the surrounding community? How can we ensure the proposed zoning amendment is narrowly focused so as not to open our R-1 districts to unanticipated development? How can the landscaping and buffering plans best screen our residential neighborhoods?
These and other factors are being reviewed right now by our Township and it is critical for residents who support the school to provide constructive input. Please, read updates from the Township and the School District. Attend public meetings. Voice your support, concerns, and questions. Participate in the process.
Edgmont Township will hold a public meeting about the school on Tuesday, May 17th at 7PM at Penn State Brandywine.
Connect Edgmont urges residents who support the Edgmont Elementary School to attend this meeting and voice your opinions during the public comment period.
If residents don’t show up to meetings to tell the Planning Commission and Supervisors that there IS support for the school now, the only voices that will be heard are the voices of those who oppose the school.
Speak up if you want our children to benefit from the school. Speak up if you want property values to reflect the excellent public school that could be in our Township. Speak up if an Edgmont community is something you value and want to promote. Speak up and tell our elected officials that we want a public elementary school in Edgmont Township.
The School District has chosen to build a net zero emission building. The geothermal well field (blue) and solar array (green) will be installed in support of the zero emission goal for the building. The primary and reserve on-site sewage disposal systems are shown in yellow.
Source: RTMSD Land Development Application, Combined Plan Set page 13
Source: RTMSD Land Development Application, Architectural_Drawings.pdf page 1
Source: RTMSD Land Development Application, Prelim Traffic Study page 17
Connect Edgmont 