Board tables new school construction - for now

WESTFALL — Citing a deepening slide in the national economy, the Delaware Valley Board of Education on Nov. 20 decided to table any decision on the location or construction of a new Delaware Valley Elementary School. “Given the financial climate and our research, it doesn’t look like the right time to be moving ahead and building a school,” board chair Bob Goldsack said at the opening of the Nov. 20 meeting. The agenda had called for a decisive vote and Goldsack called for a motion to put aside the decision. He noted data from Pike County Sheriff Phil Bueki, who reported recent “unprecedented numbers” of foreclosures and sheriff’s sales, Goldsack said. Goldsack asked Superintendent Dr. Candis Finan to prepare a list of questions that have arisen during the debate over a new building. “There are questions that need to be addressed,” he said. Finance committee chair Ed Silverstone supported Goldsack’s position saying there are “a series of unprecedented unknowns” involved. Earlier this month, Finan told the board that they needed to either go ahead on the project or fund $3 to 5 million in needed work at the existing school. She restated that position last week. “If they don’t decide during this budget cycle (through June 1) they will need to fund electrical and ventilation work in the old building.”