Neshaminy School District officials gathered Thursday to celebrate the next large step in the growth and evolution of the district.
School board members, administrators and others held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new two-story, $51 million elementary school being constructed on the same property as Maple Point Middle School and the district administrative offices on Langhorne-Yardley Road in Middletown.
The new building which, like other Neshaminy elementary schools, will accommodate students in grades K-4, should be ready for the start of classes in the 2024-25 academic year, Director of Elementary Education Michelle Burkholder said.
She added the redistricting process to determine the students attending the new school isn't finished yet, but the bulk of students will come from Pearl S. Buck Elementary School in the Levittown section of Middletown.
School board President Tina Hollenbach said after the groundbreaking ceremony that Pearl S. Buck will likely close as the result of the new school.
"That hasn't been 100 percent determined yet, but that's the plan," Hollenbach said.
During the ceremony, school board members, administrators and representatives for some state and federal elected officials hailed the new school as part of an exciting new time in Neshaminy.
"This is a large piece in our continuing road map of the future that started with a feasibility study in 2007," Substitute Superintendent/Director of Secondary Education Jason Bowman said.
School board member Kellen Sporny, a Neshaminy graduate, said the new school is "literally music to my ears" because he can hear the sounds of construction from his nearby home. He added he has two children who will be finishing up their elementary years at the new school.
It's being paid for mostly with a bond issue but also $5 million in federal funds, Business Administrator Donald Irwin said.
"This new school will ensure accessibility for all students while creating innovative and flexible learning spaces, collaboration pods and other features," Burkholder said. "It will truly be an extension of our families."
Representatives for Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, state Senator Frank Farry and state Rep. Joe Hogan spoke briefly and also presented school district officials with certificates commemorating the groundbreaking.
"Children are the future," said Tiffany O'Neill, a staff member in Hogan's office. "All can learn and all will learn. This new elementary school will launch the next generation of superb learners."
Over the last few years, the school board debated extensively whether to totally renovate Pearl S. Buck or construct a new building and opted in favor of a new school. It hasn't been officially named yet, but that decision should be coming from the school board sometime in the next few months, officials said.
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