Rightsizing Options for Pine-Richland Primary Schools Narrow to Two Plans

Rightsizing Pine-Richland's primary schools moved a step closer to reality Monday night as school board directors narrowed their options to two.

Because of a current imbalance in enrollment, rightsizing is proposed for Hance, Richland and Wexford elementary schools, which serve kindergarten to third grade.

Currently, the 1,200 students are divided unevenly with 328 at , 507 at  and 418 at . 

At the school board's operational services committee meeting on Monday, the district's administration recommended "modified Plan 3A," which affects 100 students and:

• adjusts the northeast Hance boundary to include the Grandview housing plan and surrounding areas,
• adjusts the western boundary of Richland to include all of Logan Road,
• includes Richland Highlands in the Hance attendance area,
• moves Rabold Fields students to Wexford Elementary.

Click on this link to see a map.

The school board directors said they'd like to see more options, specifically a modified Plan 4 that would not redistrict Pine Ridge Manor students to Hance or part of Logan Road to Richland. Click here to see a Plan 4 map.

Plan 4 affects about 117 students and:

• Adjusts the northern Hance boundary to include the areas north of Route 910 between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Route 8. This includes Clearview, Victoria, Lakeside, Spencer, Phillips, Grove, Granklin, Wesleyan, Fairfield and parts of Dickey and Meridian roads.
• Redistricts Richland Highlands to Hance,
• Redistricts Rabold Fields to Wexford.

The next step is for the plans to be presented to the entire nine-member school board when it meets at 7:30 p.m. March 12 in the DeWitt Conference Room at the  

"We have heard your concerns about our projections for growth three to five years out, and we agree that those figures are not reliable at this time," Superintendent Bucci said in a letter published on the district's website. "We are focusing on recent trends and actual enrollments."

Residents from Pine Ridge Manor also voiced opposition to moving their students from Wexford Elementary, which is two miles away, to Hance.

"We have heard your concerns about Pine Ridge Manor, and we agree that it does not make sense to move that plan from the Wexford attendance area," Bucci wrote. 

Parents asked about "grandfathering" so second graders can stay at their current schools through third grade. Parents expressed concern that second graders would have to transition to a new primary school for third grade, then transition to Eden Hall Upper Elementary for fourth grade.

"We also have heard your concerns about grandfathering, and that will be an option," wrote Bucci. 

To see Superintendent Bucci's online letter to the community, click here.

To see the administration's recommended rightsizing plan, click here.

For an archive of rightsizing plans, click here.

What do you think about the proposed plans? Is your neighborhood affected? Tell us in the comments. Thank you!