LETTER: Why shut down the best school we have?
On March 10, the Uniontown Area School Board voted 6-3 to close A.J. McMullen Middle School, citing declining student enrollment as the reason. While the enrollment numbers – 372 students across A.J. McMullen, Wharton Elementary, and Marclay Elementary – may suggest a need for consolidation, the decision to shutter A.J. McMullen raises serious questions about the board’s rationale, process, and motives. As a taxpayer and community member, I’m left wondering: Did the board truly act in the best interests of our students, teachers, and the mountain community, or is there more to this story?
Let’s start with the basics. A.J. McMullen sits on 28.22 acres of land, boasting 58,000 square feet of space and outdoor facilities that enhance its value to students and the community. Compare that to Wharton Elementary’s 18,000 square feet (plus 1,600 in mobile classrooms) and Marclay Elementary’s modest 15,000 square feet. A.J. McMullen is three times the size of Wharton and four times that of Marclay. So why, if consolidation is the goal, would the board close the largest and most versatile facility?
The district’s own data highlights the disparity further: Marclay can hold 350 students, Wharton 490, and A.J. McMulle, 440. With a combined enrollment of 372, any one of these schools could theoretically accommodate all mountain-area students. If cost savings and student benefit are the priorities, why not consolidate into A.J. McMullen – the school with the most space, land, and potential for future growth – rather than splitting students between two smaller, less equipped buildings?
These questions demand answers, and those answers hinge on information the board has yet to fully disclose. Were studies conducted to compare what each school offers students and the mountain community? Did the board analyze the annual operating and maintenance costs for all three schools? What about the increased busing costs under their new plan, which sends elementary students to Wharton and middle schoolers to Marclay? If this data exists, it should be public. If it doesn’t, the board’s due diligence – and its motives – must be called into question.
Transparency is not optional when decisions of this magnitude are made. The McMullen family donated this land decades ago with one purpose: to improve education in the mountain area. Closing A.J. McMullen feels like a betrayal of that legacy. If the board’s true aim is to sell the property – rumors of which have swirled – then we deserve to know. Was the decision to close A.J. McMullen reached before any serious analysis of its merits, or did six board members simply outvote three without a robust debate? Taxpayers and parents shouldn’t have to speculate.
Brad Christopher
Farmington