Fate Of 3 Central Bucks Elementary Schools Topic At Town Hall Meeting

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The first of three town hall meetings on the future of three district elementary schools will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Central Bucks High School West.

At the meeting, district administrators are expected to share information and gather feedback regarding the future of Doyle, Kutz and Linden Elementary schools.

The administration is considering the construction of a new elementary school at a cost of $101.3 million that would replace the three aging schools. The school board plans to make a final decision on the schools in May.

At Monday night’s Doylestown Borough Council meeting, member Ben Bell encouraged residents to attend the meeting, to submit their comments and to speak out in favor of keeping the local schools open.

“The school board is looking at the potential closure of schools including two in the borough," said Bell. "When borough staff studied the issue and borough council looked at it we determined that we were all in on ‘No. This would be a bad thing for the borough.’ I hope all of you bring your soapboxes to West at 7 p.m. on Thursday.”

The town hall meetings will be held on Jan. 30 at CB West, Feb. 27 at CB East and March 27 at CB South. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will be recorded.

Community members are invited to attend one or more meetings; each will cover the same information. No pre-registration is required. Comments and questions will be collected in various ways before, during and after the meetings.

"The district will be as responsive as possible, and frequently asked questions and answers will be added to the 'Update the 8' project webpage," school officials said.

Town hall attendees are invited to pre-submit comments and questions. Questions will be answered by the administrative team during the event. There will also be opportunities for attendees to submit comments and questions during each event.

Residents are encouraged to submit their comments through the following avenues:

• Pre-submit town hall comments/questions
• Email: information@cbsd.org
• Leave a Voicemail: 267-893-2000 Ext. 2288
• Send mail: CBSD Update the 8, 20 Welden Drive, Doylestown 18901

For several months, the district has been engaged in conversations to “Update the 8” - the district’s eight elementary schools in need of significant improvements. In December, the school board authorized the administration to move forward with a $235 million project to renovate five elementary schools: Barclay, Buckingham, Gayman, Titus and Warwick.

The town hall meetings are designed to help the district and the school board decide on plans for the remaining three schools: Doyle, Kutz and Linden.