For over a year, the Pennsbury School District has been deliberating the construction of a new high school building. Earlier in 2024, the district decided to commission KCBA Architects to design the building at a cost of nearly $9 million. They also chose SitelogiQ for construction management, ending their nearly decade-long partnership with D’Huy, their former construction manager.

After numerous revisions to the bond forecasts by vendor PFM, the district settled on a $266 million price tag for a 485,000 square-foot building. This translates to $548 per square foot or $93,333 per attending student. It’s important to note that these figures do not include the interest on the wrapped bonds, which is likely to push the true cost to taxpayers over $1 billion.

Why Did Pennsbury Suppress Public Sentiment in October 2024?

As part of the Act 34 process, the Pennsbury School District is required to hold community meetings to discuss the plans with taxpayers. Thus far, only a handful of meetings have been held, and attendance has been sparse. Various concerns have been raised by residents, prompting the district to begin taking steps to limit public comments. On October 8, 2024, multiple residents and school employees attended a meeting, voicing significant concerns over building a new facility versus renovating and expanding PHS West. The following is the video from that evening:

At the end of the video, the recording abruptly stops as Superintendent Dr. Tom Smith transitions from the presentation to the Q&A session with the public. Right-to-Know (RTK) requests were filed to obtain the full unedited tape. Pennsbury denied the RTK requests, claiming that public comment questions and concerns were not recorded and that no unedited version of the tape exists. Robert Abrams appealed their denial to the Open Records Office, requesting that affidavits be submitted under oath regarding their handling of the video. Below are the submissions from the district in that appeal.

According to the affidavits, Dr. Smith directed staff not to record the question and answer session of the meeting, which lasted over 90 minutes. The district was unable to produce any written documentation of Dr. Smith’s directives, and their defense in the appeal for the unedited tape relied solely on hearsay. Pennsbury has not provided any further rationale for Dr. Smith’s directive, which reduces transparency and raises questions about the process.

More Efforts To Silence The Public Extends Into November 2024

Due to pressure from Abrams’ RTK requests regarding the edited video and the legal obligations that Pennsbury has to receive and document public comments as part of the Act 34 Hearing process established by the PA Department of Education for any new building construction, Pennsbury held a special meeting on November 7, 2024. At this meeting, numerous complaints were lodged by the community, as well as by Board Member Donna Aherns, asserting that placing public comment before the vendor presentations impaired the public’s ability to participate and ask questions.

In the video, near the end of the meeting, after public comment concluded, multiple residents voiced additional questions from the crowd. These new attendees were aggressively shouted down by Board President Joanne Steere, who stated they were out of order and had already had their opportunity to speak. During her allotted time, Board Member Donna Aherns addressed these questions and concerns from the public, leading to more aggressive actions by Steere to suppress public sentiment. As Aherns continued to engage with the community, more members expressed their concerns, prompting Steere to call upon her colleagues to adjourn the meeting. The motion to adjourn was made by Facilities Committee Chair Linda Palsky, whose oversight of the project and past involvement in the $45M PHS West renovation from 18 years ago was being questioned.

Stay tuned for more updates on the PHS Building Project, as we will educate the public on the Act 34 Hearing process and how you can make your voice heard. We will also detail Pennsbury’s legal obligations to provide a renovation/rehab plan under Act 34, which has yet to be presented to the public.