How to Prepare for the January 19th School Meeting

The next public meeting for the Edgmont Elementary School is Thursday, January 19th at 6:30PM. Please plan to attend the meeting and please make a comment during the public comment period.

The Edgmont Township Planning Commission voted to not recommend Rose Tree Media School District’s application for a new elementary school in June 2022. The school application has now moved to the Board of Supervisors for their consideration on January 19th.

Although the Supervisors often follow the advice of the Planning Commission, they are not required to do so.

We strongly urge the Supervisors to give the School District’s proposal their full consideration despite the Planning Commission’s disapproval. We hope our elected officials will recognize the significant benefits a public elementary school in Edgmont will bring to our children and community.

If you support the school, please communicate your support to our elected officials before January 19th:

• Emails and letters can be sent to the Township Manager, Neil Vaughn: manager@edgmont.org
• A letter template is here: BOS Letter Template
• Sign the Community Letter of Support, which will be read aloud at the meeting.
• Make a public comment on January 19th.

Participation from residents is extremely important at public meetings. The community members who oppose the school routinely attend meetings and voice their opinions. Your voice can count too, but only if you show up and say something.

Here are tips for making your public comment:

• The meeting starts at 6:30PM. It will be held at Penn State Brandywine in the Student Union Building. Here’s a map showing the 5 min. walk from the parking lot on Rt. 352 to the meeting location.
• Sit at the front of the room near the microphone and get in line immediately when public comment begins. Public comment is traditionally a free for all. The order in which people speak is determined by how close your chair is to the microphone(s) and how fast you stand up when the Public Comment period begins.
• The meeting agenda is HERE. Public comment will be during the second half of the meeting.
• Public Comment is reserved for Edgmont Township citizens and taxpayers only.
• Commenters are given 5 minutes to speak but this does not mean your comment must last the full 5 minutes. Per the Township, if your comments have already been made by someone else, simply indicate your position. Please try and be as concise as possible so that everyone who wishes to speak has a chance to speak.
• Be brave and know your neighbors support you! Don’t let the opponents of the school intimidate you into silence. Make your voice heard!

Here are sample points that support the school:

• Edgmont Township should support the education of its children. The issue at hand is whether to allow a public elementary school. Our municipal government is tasked with protecting and facilitating the “health, safety and welfare” of its citizens. Providing a suitable space for a local public elementary school that will serve the community’s children is completely in line with that mission.
• Approving housing developments without allowing for the infrastructure of a public school is unsustainable. As the Township’s population grows due to newly approved housing developments, providing a place for a public elementary school is the responsible thing to do.
• A public elementary school belongs in Edgmont’s residential zoning district. Every public school in every municipality adjacent to Edgmont is in a residential district and ten of those schools are in the R-1 district. An elementary school should be near the population it serves and R-1 is an appropriate place for it.
• A public elementary school is better than yet another housing development on Rt. 352. An elementary school will help alleviate overcrowding and activity will be limited to weekday hours during the school year. The proposed school plan also includes significant setback and landscaping requirements that will create more visual screening for neighbors than a housing development would be required to provide.
• A public elementary school provides community facilities accessible to ALL residents outside of school hours. This school will have playgrounds, a playing field and meeting spaces that will benefit all residents, not just the students who attend.
• A local elementary school promotes community. If applicable, share an anecdote about growing up going to your own neighborhood school and the pride/togetherness that brought to your community.
• Young families are moving into Edgmont and these kids need a school. Does your neighborhood have a ton of young kids? Has every house on the block sold to a young family? Tell the Supervisors!
• The current elementary schools are overcrowded. Do your kids eat lunch in the hallway? Ride the bus for 1 ½ hours a day? Tell the Supervisors specifically how your kids are impacted by the current capacity issues.
• A local elementary school provides opportunities for residents to volunteer and get involved with the Township’s youngest generation. Tell the Supervisors specifically how you would value getting involved as a volunteer at the elementary school.
• An elementary school will raise property values. Are you a real estate agent? Do you have experience buying or selling a home near a school? Please share your opinion about how proximity to an elementary school in a good school district enhances property values.
• An elementary school is a great neighbor. Do you have personal experience living near a public elementary school? Tell the Supervisors specifically what you liked about being near the school and how it enhanced your neighborhood and community.
• A new state-of-the-art elementary school building will benefit Edgmont’s children. Are you a teacher or involved with youth education? Tell the Supervisors how a new building will better facilitate modern learning methods and enhanced safety protocols.
• An elementary school will have an enduring impact on Edgmont Township. It’s not just about the kids who will attend this school in the next 10 years. Allowing a school to be built in Edgmont will have a long term impact on generations of Edgmont children for many years to come.

Here are more steps to take right now:

• Sign up for email updates from Connect Edgmont.
• Learn why we believe The New Elementary School is a Win for Edgmont Township.
• Learn about the need for a school, the location and the zoning amendment here: Why the Edgmont Elementary School Belongs on Middletown Road.

Additional updates will be shared via email before the January 19th meeting.

save edgmont, no zoning change,