Nicholas McGoldrick for Neshaminy School Board

Proudly endorsed by the NFT!

(Neshaminy Federation of Teachers)

Proudly endorsed by the AFTPA!

(American Federation of Teachers – Pennsylvania)

School Closings & Property Sales

This was the first issue that caught my attention and ultimately led me to run for the school board. Our school buildings have been allowed to go unmaintained or without renovation for too long, and it has caught up to us.

8 of 10 of our school buildings are around 60 years old and, as far as I can tell, only 3 have had major renovations this century.

Fixing, renovating, or building new schools is expensive and the budget has been tight. It requires good long-term fiscal planning to avoid falling in a hole of disrepair. The easy answer has been to close schools and shift students around, lease the buildings, and going as far as to even sell the properties. As I tell my neighbors, when that public land is gone, it is never coming back.

We have seen short-term fixes that may come back to haunt us. We may not need to wait long. The district’s own hired consulting firm agrees there are significant student capacity issues.

This table illustrates the problem and hints at the cause. The effects we can all see, as the building of a “mega school” complex at Maple Point

Levittown was not built for mega schools, it was built around neighborhood schools where the youngest kids could walk or bike to elementary school. It is even an option for many middle school kids so that it is not uncommon for some students to not have had to take the bus until high school.

SchoolGrade LevelBuilt/OpenedLast Major RenovationAgeRenovation AgeCurrent Status
Neshaminy HighHigh School195620096916Active
Maple PointMiddle School197519935032Active
Core CreekElementary2025–0–Active
Carl SandburgMiddle School195920156610Active
Albert SchweizerElementary1960–65–Active
PoquessingMiddle School196220066319Active
Joseph FerderbarElementary1955–70–Active
Herbert HooverElementary1962–63–Active
Walter MillerElementary1950’s–~70–Active
TawankaElementary2016–9–Active
Neshaminy MiddleMiddle School1965–x–CLOSED 2008 – SOLD 2012
Dwight D. EisenhowerElementary1963–x–CLOSED 1980’S – SOLD 2013
Samuel EverittElementary1955–70–CLOSED 2015 – BCIU Classes
Lower SouthamptonElementary1950’s–~70–CLOSED 2016 – LS Early Childhood Learning Center, Pre-K, BCIU Classes
Oliver HeckmanElementary1967–58–CLOSED 2016 – Vacant – Sold?
Pearl S. BuckElementary1968–57–CLOSED 2024

Charter Schools & Public Funding

Charter school funding is a tricky issue in PA and naturally, it is out of the hands of the Neshaminy School Board, but it is an issue we should be concerned with because of its significant impact on the district’s budget.

If you ask me, parents who want to enroll their children in an alternative school should have that freedom. However, their decision should not take undue funds away from public education. It does not make sense, and is not fair, for alternative schools to set their own prices and force the district to pay them. If they are allowed to demand funds at all, it should be capped at the amount the district spends per student.

There are legislative efforts to improve the effectiveness and fairness of Pennsylvania’s education system and it would be nice to see them move forward.

Pennsylvania’s Basic Education Funding Commission (aka BEFC)

PA Schools Work (SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA | PA Schools Work)

BUCKS COUNTY IU 22 | PA Schools Work – see the Neshaminy report here, potential for over $1,000,000 net benefit for the district.

Federal funding in general is facing uncertainty and any disruption in the expected funds for the district, while it already faces a multi-million dollar projected deficit, will be harmful and either force cuts or put the district further in the hole.

Federal legislature such as the ECCA are set to allow millions of tax dollars to be shifted from public services to private schools.