Any time the Warren County School District starts talking about its master facilities plan, warning bells ring out.

At Monday’s school board meeting, representatives of the Sheffield and Youngsville communities spoke, asking for clarification — and hoping that the board would not close their schools.

Former school board member Nate Lindberg spoke of “the emotional impact that the master facilities plan can have on Sheffield, Youngsville, and the surrounding areas.

“What I am looking for is some information on how this process is going to proceed, how you’re going to reach out to the public,” he said. “There are people in the public that need to be involved in this conversation. There are lots of other people beyond this group over here. I want to make sure we’re adequately represented.”

Kelly Sullivan asked the board how the public will be notified when meetings will be held and how “stakeholders” will be selected for a community engagement and outreach meeting.

Student Jeremiah Richardson spoke about the impact attending Sheffield Area High School has had on his life. “I originally came to Sheffield through Abraxas,” Richardson said. The schools have a cooperative athletics agreement.

“I have developed a foster family,” he said. “Through Sheffield, I feel like I have grown, gradually, as a person.”

Tammy Holden cautioned the board to live up to its own rules and the expectations set by the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA). She cited district policy that the board “must maintain two-way communications with citizens of the district. I feel that Region II has been desperately underrepresented in this area.”

The school board is elected by regions, with three members elected from each of three regions. Region II includes Clarendon and Tidioute boroughs and Cherry Grove, Conewango, Deerfield, Eldred, Limestone, Mead, Pleasant, Sheffield, Triumph, and Watson townships.

PSBA suggests that “the community should be provided with information about its schools,” she said. “What are the repercussions to the board if you fail to adhere to your own rules? Trust … is not on your radar.”

She said she does not doubt that board members are trying to act in the best-interests of the students, but, “those students are also members of the communities you are elected to represent.”

Lindberg had some follow-up questions at the close of the meeting. “Will the public engagement sessions be something that can be attended via Zoom?” he asked.

Although it is generally the board’s practice not to answer questions during board meetings, committee meetings are considered the proper time for dialogue, he was told that the meetings would be in-person only.

He also asked “what options are on the table and what is the timeline? Is the intention to close Sheffield, Youngsville? … Is the intention to discuss closing it for the next school year?”

Board President Paul Mangione and Superintendent Amy Stewart said at a previous meeting that no particular options are on the table, but nothing is off the table.

On Monday, Stewart said the district does not have a timeline for implementing any changes. It does have a timeline for gathering information from the public.

There will be public engagement meetings at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, Tuesday, April 18, and Tuesday, May 9, at the Warren County School District Central Office. A community engagement meeting will be with business leaders, government representatives, non-profit leadership, and others at 6 p.m. Friday, March 24.

There will school board committee meetings starting at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, and a board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13, both at the central office.

She said the information gathered in those meetings will be used to help decide what actions the district will or will not take and when any action would be taken. The district has contracted Strategy Solutions to assist with the process.

The district is several years into a master facilities plan process, Stewart said.

A demographic and population study was conducted prior to the pandemic. “Population projections were the first step,” she said. “The next step, done during the pandemic, was the facilities assessment piece.”

That part of the plan checked on the physical facilities – the roofs, boilers, and bricks and mortar – at the district’s buildings.

A utilization study was completed in the fall that showed the district where it had underutilized space and how much.

The end of the planning is near and the public phase of the project has begun.

Lindberg and others at Monday’s meeting hope their voices will be heard. “The people in the Sheffield attendance area and the Youngsville attendance area are looking to have a conversation with the school board and administration to give outside-the-box solutions to the current problems,” he said. “I think there is now a time when we need to reimagine the way we do education in Warren County.”

The board has not communicated its intentions, he said. “They have a messaging problem. I want answers.”

“We look forward to having an open conversation and discussion with the board and administration moving forward,” Lindberg said. “We all need to work through this together.”