Municipality eyes taking over school properties in Bethel Park

With Bethel Park School District planning to close its elementary buildings by 2026, the municipality seeks ownership of two of the properties.

The impetus is to preserve the land at Benjamin Franklin and George Washington schools for recreational purposes and green space, according to Tim Moury, municipal council president.

“We do not have any formal plans to do anything with it, but the initial intent, to be perfectly clear, would probably be to take the buildings down,” he said during a June 13 school board facilities meeting. With regard to maintenance, “We don’t have deep pockets that we’re going to be able to fund these buildings.”

The district is working toward constructing a new elementary center for all students in kindergarten through fifth grade. A subcommittee of community members — headed by Jim Modrak, who chairs the school board’s facilities and services committee — was formed to guide the process of identifying the best uses for the vacated buildings and make recommendations to the board.

Moury cited Washington’s proximity to the Bethel Park spur of the Montour Trail and Franklin’s athletic fields as desirable from the standpoint of enhancing recreational assets.

He addressed conditions of the school district transferring ownership to the municipality.

“It would be in the agreement that we would not be able to sell the properties,” he said. “If you need to build a new school, and you needed property, you would reserve the right as a district to come back to the municipality and take the properties back, provided you would reimburse the municipality” for any investments made.

“So it’s really a partnership. We don’t want you to think we’re going to take the buildings and sell the properties. But we also want to make sure we maintain it for the community and what the best use is,” Moury told the board.

A timeline developed by the subcommittee calls for the district to work with the municipality in seeking grant money, a process taking place now. In the fall, a community needs survey is to be conducted, followed by a “look at expanding the subcommittee based on the survey results,” according to Kim Walsh-Turner, school board vice president.

Planned for 2024 are a community meeting to review the status of the repurposing efforts, development of cost/benefit details, surveying the community to prioritize options, and presenting the board with final options.

“I like the fact that you’re being proactive in looking now. A lot of things can happen. You’ve got a lot on your plate. But when the transition occurs, it’ll be smooth,” Moury said about the elementary center’s opening. “You’ll have a plan, and it won’t be a liability that you’re going to have to worry about and pay for.”

Barry Christenson, school board president, acknowledged the close relationship between the district and municipality.

“Having these plans helps us understand what is important to each other. And ultimately, the sum of them is what’s important to Bethel Park as a whole,” Christenson said.

“When you work on strategic projects like this, it’s nice to have some kind of a picture of what are our priorities in the future, five years, 10 years down the road,” he continued. “It doesn’t really matter what they are today, because that’s going to change. So these plans help us really aim for the future and not for today. So I think we’ll get it right because of that.”

Walsh-Turner, who serves on the repurposing subcommittee, said she looks to avoid repeating a situation involving Bethel Park’s Logan School. The district closed the building on Keystone Drive in 1991 and later rented it out, including for Community College of Allegheny County classes, but eventually it became an unused eyesore.

The June 13 school board facilities meeting can be viewed at www.youtube.com/live/4L_J8Sbn8Qw?feature=share.