Boyertown mulls utilizing Pine Forge as particular training middle
DOUGLASS (Berks) – The Boyertown Area School District has been closed for more than two years and has yet to decide what to do with the Pine Forge Elementary School building.
However, the board recently gave the tacit OK to the administration of Superintendent MaryBeth Torchia to begin exploring the idea of using it as a special education center for the district.
Torchia raised the idea at the January 11 board meeting.
She told the board that the district often has to send students with special needs to special schools, which can mean a long bus ride and cost up to $40,000 to $50,000 per student per year. The opportunity to train them at Pine Forge “keeps them in the district,” Torchia said.
Special education costs are the third most expensive item in the district’s annual budget, she said.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said board member Jeff Zawada.
Board member Ruth Dierolf noted that the bus ride for special needs students in Boyertown is often long and said the Pine Forge building could perhaps also be used to house special needs students from nearby counties. “I’m excited about this idea,” she said.
Boyertown School board member Ruth Dierolf said she was “excited about the idea” of using Pine Forge Elementary School as a special education center. (Picture from BASD TV)
Board member Christine Neiman said she’s fine with administration examining details like costs and capital expenditures “as long as Boyertown’s students come first.”
She said the COVID-19 crisis and the protocols in place to deal with it are increasing mental health problems among students. “Our students are really suffering, and a smaller group will be enough for a teacher to handle in some of these cases,” Neiman said.
Torchia acknowledged that during the pandemic, some students are struggling between emotional stress and the uncertainty of switching back and forth between in-person and virtual learning. The Pine Forge building, she said, would be a sort of transition center for struggling students without sending them out of the district.
But of course, the cost of refurbishing the building for use, staffing and other considerations must all be studied and submitted to the board for consideration before a decision is made, Torchia said.
By a 5-4 vote, the school board officially began the process of closing Pine Forge in May 2019 as part of former Superintendent Dana Bedden’s redistribution plan and despite many objections from parents of the school’s students.
