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Redistricting Policy Affects Narberth, Ardmore, Penn Valley
LMSD Enacts Controversial Plan
By Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
Ardmore — “I walked here tonight. Let my sons walk to LMHS too!” read one of the many signs dozens upon dozens of parents held to face Montgomery Avenue Monday night.
After they walked into Lower Merion High School, these parents from South Ardmore, North Narberth and Penn Valley found their hopes to send their kids to that nearby school, not the remote Harriton High School in Rosemont, dashed. As such, many children who expected to walk to or take short bus rides to high school will end up with long bus commutes.
The redistricting plan, which has gone through several very different renderings, is intended to balance the number of students attending the new Lower Merion and Harriton high schools, both currently under construction. Lower Merion School District Superintendent Christopher McGinley supported the plan, as did all but two members of the Board of Directors, Diane DiBonaventuro, D, and David Ebby, D.
“Those I’ve spoken with [in affected neighborhoods] said they felt estranged from and neglected by the school district,” Mr. Ebby said. “This vote is not difficult for me. I cannot support this plan.”
Board member Jerry Novick, R, said he based his support of the plan on an attempt to arrive at the least burdensome outcome the district could devise. All plans considered by the board have inflexibly maintained the goal of placing roughly 1,100 students in each of the two high schools. The ultimate decision relies partly on trying to bring some would-be Lower Merion High School students to Harriton by offering a broader range of electives at the latter school.
“There’s no win-win plan,” he said. “I believe the answer’s very difficult.”
Opposition to the arrangement finalized Monday night was particularly pronounced among residents of South Ardmore, some of who said the redistricting serves to split up the African-American community in that neighborhood. One Ardmore resident, Aaron Williams, took such offense at board member Susan Guthrie’s, D, expression of support for the resolution that he got up to express his distaste for the plan’s effect on minorities and stormed out of the auditorium.
Opponents of the arrangement have suggested they may challenge it in court. The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia has said the “disproportionate transfer of black students risks violating constitutional law.”
Some district residents have argued a redistricting controversy was an inevitable consequence of building two uniquely large high schools of equal size when the vast majority of the district’s population resides in eastern Lower Merion. On that basis, Budget Reform for Student Learning, an area nonprofit, is now attempting to get the Pennsylvania Department to require a referendum on Harriton’s construction plans.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
After they walked into Lower Merion High School, these parents from South Ardmore, North Narberth and Penn Valley found their hopes to send their kids to that nearby school, not the remote Harriton High School in Rosemont, dashed. As such, many children who expected to walk to or take short bus rides to high school will end up with long bus commutes.
The redistricting plan, which has gone through several very different renderings, is intended to balance the number of students attending the new Lower Merion and Harriton high schools, both currently under construction. Lower Merion School District Superintendent Christopher McGinley supported the plan, as did all but two members of the Board of Directors, Diane DiBonaventuro, D, and David Ebby, D.
“Those I’ve spoken with [in affected neighborhoods] said they felt estranged from and neglected by the school district,” Mr. Ebby said. “This vote is not difficult for me. I cannot support this plan.”
Board member Jerry Novick, R, said he based his support of the plan on an attempt to arrive at the least burdensome outcome the district could devise. All plans considered by the board have inflexibly maintained the goal of placing roughly 1,100 students in each of the two high schools. The ultimate decision relies partly on trying to bring some would-be Lower Merion High School students to Harriton by offering a broader range of electives at the latter school.
“There’s no win-win plan,” he said. “I believe the answer’s very difficult.”
Opposition to the arrangement finalized Monday night was particularly pronounced among residents of South Ardmore, some of who said the redistricting serves to split up the African-American community in that neighborhood. One Ardmore resident, Aaron Williams, took such offense at board member Susan Guthrie’s, D, expression of support for the resolution that he got up to express his distaste for the plan’s effect on minorities and stormed out of the auditorium.
Opponents of the arrangement have suggested they may challenge it in court. The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia has said the “disproportionate transfer of black students risks violating constitutional law.”
Some district residents have argued a redistricting controversy was an inevitable consequence of building two uniquely large high schools of equal size when the vast majority of the district’s population resides in eastern Lower Merion. On that basis, Budget Reform for Student Learning, an area nonprofit, is now attempting to get the Pennsylvania Department to require a referendum on Harriton’s construction plans.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
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BRSL wrote on Jan 14, 2009 10:23 PM: