Category: Good Government On The March, Mon Valley Miscellany, Politics || By

The last few years have been a good time to be involved in school construction in Western Pennsylvania.

Despite the widespread regional population drain, a bump in birthrates in the 1990s in some districts increased the student population. Many local schools constructed just after World War II are beginning to require expensive repairs; even if they're structurally sound, they need technological upgrades to accommodate new types of classrooms, along with computers and Internet connections.

That's led to the construction of a new elementary school in Port Vue to replace the old Glassport and Romine Avenue schools; the replacement of Scull and Sunset Valley elementary schools in North Huntingdon and the demolition of the relatively young (OK, 37 years old) Stewartsville Elementary School, which is to be replaced by a new building on the same site; and construction of a new middle school in North Versailles to replace the 1930s-vintage Westinghouse Elementary in Wilmerding.

. . .

So it's no surprise that McKeesport Area School District, which serves the city, Dravosburg, South Versailles Township (Coulter), Versailles and White Oak, is considering replacement of one or more of its elementary schools.

True, the district's enrollment is supposed to decline from the present 4,200 students to about 3,400 a decade from now. (Ouch.) But McKeesport's buildings are older than most. Centennial School on Beaver Avenue was built in 1921; George Washington, over in the Myer Park section of the city, was built in 1928.

The projected cost is about $30 million to $40 million.

. . .

But here's the thing that floored me: School Director Dave Donato's comment that a new elementary school should be built near the high school.

P-G freelancer and former Daily News sports editor Norm Vargo quotes Donato as saying, "that area is an ideal site with Helen Richey Field next door and Renzie Park just across Eden Park Boulevard. Property acquisition might be a problem. But most of it is low density residential. We might be forced to consider eminent domain."

Eminent domain? You have to be kidding me.

. . .

With all of the vacant property available within the city, the idea that the school district might want to condemn property in one of McKeesport's stable neighborhoods makes my head hurt.

There are blighted neighborhoods begging for development throughout the city.

There are other neighborhoods which aren't blighted, but which have plenty of vacant property --- including Christy Park, where the old 11th Ward School was located. That building was torn down during the summer of 2006 and the property is still owned by the McKeesport Area School District!

Maybe Donato was speaking off the cuff. I sure hope so.

(A more suspicious man might wonder if Donato hopes that the district will purchase his former Ball Park Restaurant, adjacent to the high school campus and currently for sale.)

. . .

I won't argue that after 80 years of continuous use, some of the district's elementary schools are due for replacement. Consolidating their students in a new, more modern building would likely save operating costs and result in better education.

But although I don't live within in the city limits, I'd be pretty upset if the school district is really proposing to take away taxpaying, quality residential properties when it owns empty property elsewhere.

This little "trial balloon" needs to be punctured before it floats any further.

. . .

Stories I Missed: The Post-Gazette notes that city Mayor Jim Brewster is unhappy with the chamber of commerce, and feels the city might need to create its own chamber to improve its marketing efforts. A letter to the editor from a Clairton resident in yesterday's P-G raps the idea as a power grab.

Actually, I can see exactly where Brewster is coming from. The city is currently served by the Regional Chamber Alliance, which used to be known as the Mon-Yough Chamber of Commerce and before that, the McKeesport Chamber of Commerce.

And as far as I can tell, the RCA does sweet F.A. for the City of McKeesport.

When I look through the chamber's marketing materials, I see activities for Monroeville, West Mifflin, Jefferson Hills, White Oak ... everywhere except McKeesport, Liberty, Port Vue and Glassport.

I'll elaborate in a day or two. But if Brewster's comments shake the RCA out of taking the McKeesport area for granted, then I endorse them wholeheartedly.