No agreement on elementary school plans

WESTFALL — The board of education discussion of construction for the new Delaware Valley Elementary School is continuing. There are a few potential plans for the site, one of which entails a two-story building that would sit where the front baseball field, administration building, and current elementary school are. Don Flynn of Burkavage Associates was present at the July 17 meeting, and explained that the new building will strive for a silver LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. Though most directors agree they favor construction of a new school over renovation of the existing one, John Wroblewski and Pam Lutfy both voted no on moving forward with the project at all. “I’m not happy with the idea of elementary and high school students on the same campus,” said Wroblewski, who would prefer the school be built off the Westfall campus. “The construction would be highly disruptive to not only activities but educational processes. The answer is ‘no.’” Several fields would be lost if the elementary school is built on the proposed spot, and there is not yet a secured area to build new ones. Long range planning committee Chair John Kupillas said it was “too far down the road to worry about,” and that while no programs would be cut, they might have to be changed around. Nonetheless, renovations to high school were discussed, in which the high school and athletic building would be connected and an addition to the gym and pool, creating additional room for spectators in both venues.