The CBSD Bulletin
Dear Central Bucks School District Community
For the past twelve years, the Central Bucks School District has operated as the third largest district in the state, trailing only the school systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Recently, the Reading School District has surpassed ours in growth, with the Allentown School District close behind.
This decrease in enrollment in Central Bucks is projected to continue over the next five years for a number of demographic reasons. This will have an impact on an array of things at CBSD. To start, we must examine the manner in which our buildings are utilized to optimize educational planning while ensuring the efficient capital management of our properties, all while continuing to provide the top-quality education that parents expect and the state-of-the-art facilities that our children, teachers and staff deserve.
To assist this process, the district hired the firm, Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates (CRA) to conduct a study of our district’s population trends, building utilization and capacity limits for each of our 23 schools.
On Thursday November 3rd, CRA presented its preliminary recommendations based on the work completed over the past two and half years. There are two takeaways from the presentation that our Board of Directors must now consider regarding our schools and our attendance boundaries: K-12 grade realignment and the possibility of school closings.
1. Grade Realignment
The three Central Bucks high schools currently house students in grades 10 through 12. While the ninth grade year is recorded on students’ official high school transcripts, it is currently housed at the middle school level for one reason: space. With enrollment decreasing, we can now bring ninth graders to the high school. Doing so carries many benefits for students, including but not limited to:
- Increased Access to Courses. Presently, ninth graders have no access to high school courses, including Advanced Placement offerings and other courses that could allow for diversification of academic pathways toward graduation.
- Consistent, Efficient Academic Planning. In CB, the transition from middle school in ninth grade to high school in tenth grade requires students to change school counselors one year into their “high school” experience. Having the same school counselor for the duration of the high school experience provides continuity. Additionally, the district can also restructure its course catalog and sequencing of courses to accommodate ninth graders and increase access, opportunity and choice for these students.
- Access to Athletics and Extracurriculars. Although ninth graders are technically in high school in our present model and in some cases do play high school sports, they are mostly ineligible for participation across the board in musicals, ensembles, clubs, etc. Having full access to high school athletics and extracurriculars provides long-lasting, definitive benefits for students.
2. Closing Schools
When schools operate below 80% capacity, they are considered to be educationally and financially inefficient; therefore, redistributing students to achieve balance is recommended and even essential. Given this, the Board of Directors will consider the potential closing of one or more schools coupled with a reconfiguration of attendance boundaries.
These moves will provide a significant cost savings that can be reinvested into programs and services across the district, benefitting students and teachers, while improving the financial return for taxpayers.
CRA is recommending that the Board of Directors consider the closing of Linden Elementary, the adjustment of attendance boundaries and the redistribution of students to Doyle Elementary and Kutz Elementary.
NEXT STEPS
The Board of Directors has made no decisions on these recommendations. Before making any decisions, the Board and the administration want to hear feedback from the CBSD community. In late winter, the district will host a second informational meeting to provide more detailed information about potential grade realignment and the closing of a school. At this meeting, maps and other demographic information will be shared, and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Should the Board choose to adopt one or more of these recommendations, they would most likely take effect during the 2024-25 school year.
Finally, we realize that change carries with it the potential for discomfort. That’s why we pledge to provide a well-developed transition plan and to communicate the process for implementing any changes directly with you every step of the way. Our goal is to provide as much information and explanation as possible and to ensure that our community and families are able to have their questions answered and their concerns addressed.
Sincerely,
Dr. Abram Lucabaugh
Superintendent
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