School Board Members Issue Statements After Voters Reject Referendum on Ninth Grade Addition to High School

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

A “Vote Yes” election sign stands in the snow outside the Montgomery Township community and recreation center on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, with a “Vote

A pair of statements were released by members of the North Penn Board of School Directors Wednesday morning after voters rejected a ballot referendum seeking to approve a tax increase in excess of Act 1 to create a ninth-grade center at North Penn High School and upgrade the campus as part of a planned nine-figure renovation and repair project.

North Penn School Board President Tina Stoll submitted the following statement on behalf of the board:

While we are disappointed in the outcome of yesterday's referendum election results, we remain confident in our decision to put this incredibly impactful decision about the future of our NPHS to the community for a vote. We have said from the beginning that this is true democracy and we would honor the community's decision either way.

We would like to thank all those involved in this process, especially our incredible administration, who spent countless hours compiling information, holding informational meetings, reaching out to community members and engaging with stakeholders. We thank all those community members who took the time to get informed and to help spread the word about this referendum. And we'd like to thank the election and poll workers who volunteered their time yesterday, to ensure the NPSD community was able to make their voices heard.

Today we will continue the process of the NPHS renovation, albeit without the 9th grade moving up to the campus. We will continue to engage stakeholders along the way and to hear their input. I know we can all agree on one thing and that is that NP students deserve the best that we have to offer them.

Sincerely,

Tina Stoll
NPSB President

In a separate statement provided to North Penn Now, North Penn School Board Vice President Christian Fusco said the following:

I am disappointed in the outcome of yesterday’s referendum, but I accept the result. The voters spoke loud and clear. Ninth grade will remain in our middle schools and our high school will maintain the same 50-year-old footprint for decades to come.

The conversation about whether to close Penndale or move our sixth grade out of elementary school is over.

We will refocus our vision on what is possible and explore what can be done moving forward. Many people worked very hard to reimagine NP and I am exceedingly grateful to them for their sacrifice and commitment to an idea that simply was not meant to be.

Former Republican school board candidate Vince Altieri also provided a statement in the wake of the referendum results. It reads:

While the "No” vote may have been a small victory for the North Penn taxpayer, the real losers are the educators, children, and parents — like me — that wanted the ninth grade moved into the High School. At the end of the day, the North Penn Board of Directors and its superintendent selfishly put their agenda for "open spaces” and their desire to raise the legal limit of the Act 1 Index before everything else. This group of leaders had six years to get this right, and this is exactly why Political Monopolies are bad for North Penn. I am hopeful that the BODs are mindful of what message this vote has sent them and that they accept responsibility for their mistakes that will impact generations to come.

Read more about Tuesday’s historic referendum here.

(Editor's note: this article was updated at 11:53 a.m. to reflect comment provided by former Republican school board candidate Vince Altieri.)