South Brandywine might stay open for five more years
By Kyle Carrozza, Correspondent, The Times
Although slated for replacement, fiscal constraints may keep South Brandywine Middle School open for at least five more years.
CALN – Due to an already tight budget, the Coatesville Area School Board announced a change in plans at their meeting Tuesday night, stating that the district cannot afford to close both North and South Brandywine Middle Schools but instead will replace one while keeping the other open for an estimated five years.
“We can’t afford to rebuild both North Brandywine and South Brandywine,” said Coatesville Area School District Board of Education President J. Neil Campbell, who indicated that the adjustment in plans was deemed necessary at an operations committee meeting.
The previous plans, first discussed at a school board meeting in March, called for both North and South to be replaced with new buildings in order to cut the costs of operating and renovating the current schools. However, during his report, Campbell said that the new plans call for an assessment of each middle school to determine which one is in more dire need of replacement. Board members seemed to agree that South would likely stay open, but further investigation is necessary. The district will also have to wait to see how much funding will be provided by the state.
Assessments of the schools are underway and will be discussed at the next operations committee or school board meeting.
In other district news, Superintendent Richard W. Como announced that the Coatesville Area School District has met the No Child Left Behind Act’s requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the seventh consecutive year. The result, based on attendance and test scores, determines which schools are adequately educating students versus which ones need to take action to improve.
Como also said that some of the district’s middle school students will be visiting West Chester University. The first trip, with about 20 students, will be held on Oct. 21. The students will learn about college life and become university students for a day.
“So many of our kids have never really been out of Coatesville,” said Como. He believes that the visitation is important so that students will begin planning their futures earlier and be more prepared for a post-secondary education.
The superintendent also made a point to thank the district’s custodial staff. After recently visiting all of the schools, he noted, “They go above and beyond to make sure their areas look awesome.”
The public was re-introduced to Karen DeShullo, who will be the district’s new director of business administration, moving from her old post as assistant director.
