School Board Accepts Land Donation, Stipulations

Armstrong School District Board President Joseph Close signs on the dotted line to accept a 68-acre land donation in Manor Township from the Sherry Family Trust. The land is to be the site of a new grade 7-12th school. The declaration of gift was approved after a 7-1 vote by board directors.
by Jonathan Weaver
It may be a wooded area now, but Armstrong school directors will clear a 68-acre parcel of land in Manor Township as the site of their new junior-senior high school.
School directors voted 7-1 at last night’s regular meeting to accept donated land from the Sherry Family Trust and the 14 requirements that come along with it, of which include paying 10 percent of the estimated property value ($700,000) to Allegheny Real Estate. Region III Board Director D. Royce Smeltzer voted ‘no’ on the resolution, while Region 1 Board Director James Rearic was absent.
The property will also revert back to the Sherry Family Trust – Paul V. Sherry III and Carmella D. Sherry – if construction has not commenced within two years of the deed being acquired.
Board President Joseph Close thanked Sherry Family Trust and Snyder Brothers, Inc. of Kittanning – who offered a 65-acre parcel of land near the intersection of Route 422 and Red Mill Road in Manor Township – for their proposals.
“Typically, school districts don’t receive donated properties when they are doing building projects. They tend to pay top-prime price for properties,” Close said. “We have had the opportunity to receive this property at a very low-market rate. And it was very noble of both donors to offer this up and make this happen for us at such a reduced cost for the taxpayers.”
A third school site was originally available, but not discussed during the final selection because it would have had to be bought by the school district.
Following the meeting, Smeltzer said he voted ‘no’ due to the school not being available to all current Elderton, South Bend and Plumcreek Township students. Students are able to transfer into the new school, but it will not be able to educate the entire school district enrollment.
The official Board vote on the closing of Elderton Junior-Senior High will commence in June. Current students would be split between West Shamokin and Ford City high schools.
Smeltzer also voted ‘no’ on the first two PlanCon items orchestrated by L.R. Kimball architects.
In other news, Kittanning High School Junior Matt Grafton won second place last week in the statewide youth driving championships held at Camp Hill, Pa. Grafton won first overall at the Indiana/Armstrong regional competition at Indiana University of Pennsylvania April 25.
Between the regional and statewide competitions, Grafton was awarded $4,000 in scholarships.
Ford City Junior-Senior High also won a silver medal as the 52nd best high school in the state of Pennsylvania, according to U.S. News and World Report. The ranking puts the school in the top seven percent based on how students performed on state assessments.
Ford City also received a silver medal in the national rankings, where it was rated in the top 2,000. Principal Michael Cominos and Assistant Principal Brian Thimions accepted an award at the meeting from Superintendent Stan Chapp.



