STUDIES with SOLUTIONS

Space & enrollment challenges are nearly a decade old. Parents want/need timely answers & solutions. How long with the proposed-K-1 take?

RTMSD identified alternatives in a 2018 District Wide Capacity Study by Marotta/Main which shows RTMSD could expand & improve existing schools to accommodate future growth.

Options considered at the time included: additions to all school buildings, a new kindergarten & first grade Center, new fifth & sixth grade building, & moving fifth grade to middle school.

Other opportunities include:

1. Conduct a utilization study of existing classroom space.

2. Replace existing semi-permanent modular classrooms with permanent, brick-&-mortar classroom wings.

3. Building a second floor at Indian Lane, a new school at Glenwood Elementary, and/or a 5th grade center at Springton Lake Middle School. Uses an existing educational campus and infrastructure.

Many other school districts (e.g. Lower Merion) already moved to this model as a solution to overcrowding & Downingtown school district has a "6th grade center."

The 2018 study includes detailed design options with possible campus expansion areas identified.

PLANNED EXPANSION AT SPRINGTON LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Although discussed at any school board meeting, the RTMSD developer announced at a March 2, 2026 Upper Providence Planning Commission meeting, the district intends to construct a 70 x 84, 2 story, 6 classroom building at the middle school.

It was said the traffic study shows “no impact”. The new classroom building is a solution included in the 2018 District Wide Capacity Study that could be duplicated at Glenwood, Indian Lane & possibly Rose Tree Elementary Schools.

Upper Providence Township March 2, 2026 Planning Commission meeting - discussion starts about the 13:30-minute mark.

Enrollment fluctuates by a few students each year. However, from 2025 to 2026, the middle school gained 81 students, with declines in the lower grades. With birth rates falling, the overcrowding has moved past the kindergarten & 1st grade levels. And despite new homes in Middletown Township, both Glenwood & Indian Lanes have a drop in enrollment.

Missing 2018 District Wide Capacity Study Pages.....

The above linked 2018 Capacity Feasibility Study was available on-line. It was noticed that pages 28-31 are missing from the on-line version. A copy of the Study, including missing pages which consist of Pros/Cons & costs, was located. There are discrepancies with the below page titled “Options Considered, Not Recommended” – Missing pages for more information.

A 2023 Feasibility Study Update was prepared.

This study looked at expanding libraries, cafeterias, & adding bathrooms with the assumption an elementary school was built in Edgmont Township.

RTMSD Owns Considerably More than the 13.9-acre Rose Tree Road Parcel

The district owns six school properties including the middle school campus of approximately 73 acres.

Glenwood

Indian Lane

Springton Lake

Rose Tree

Owning the Rose Tree Road property is a fact. Having no other choice but to build there is a talking point.

RTMSD has not demonstrated that a regional K–1 Center is superior to using existing schools & properties.

REPURPOSING EXISTING BUILDINGS & PROPERTIES

Why develop more land & duplicate infrastructure if suitable buildings or properties may already be available?

Former Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center –370 N. Middletown Road (Route 352)

• Closed March 2021; a vacant institutional building.

• The facility included administrative space, a gym, basketball courts, cafeteria, classrooms, & residential buildings within a larger County campus.

• April 2026, Delaware County Council voted to participate in a regional juvenile detention facility in Berks County: County is pursuing a regional arrangement rather than reopening this detention center.

• An existing institutional property.

• County-owned, making a public-sector discussion potentially possible.

• Could other portions of the larger County campus be made available?

Former Sleighton School - institutional campus along Valley Road

• The overall property is described as approximately 300 acres.

• The school closed in 2001 & the campus is vacant.

• The property is owned by Elwyn & Sleighton Inc.

• Property borders Edgmont & Middletown Townships. Edgmont suggested this sight to RTMSD.

· January 2026, the Pennsylvania Game Commission considered initiating a land exchange involving approximately 176.8 acres of the Sleighton property in Edgmont Township.

· Approximately 81 acres: Middletown Township's separately acquired Sleighton Farms Trail & open-space property across Valley Road from the former campus.

·42 acres privately owned institutional property appears remaining.

Promenade at Granite Run - Sears Building & Tire Center

· Former Sears Auto Center: approximately 28,000 square feet.

· Former Sears department store: approximately 181,351 square feet, two stories.

· The two spaces are being marketed as a redevelopment opportunity.

· Existing building infrastructure & parking.

· A large building that could potentially accommodate classrooms, administrative space, cafeteria, gymnasium, & support services.

Roosevelt Community Center - Former Roosevelt School 464 S. Old Middletown Road

· RTMSD operated the Roosevelt School as an elementary school until the early 1980s.

· When it was determined the Roosevelt School was no longer needed for school capacity; Middletown Township purchased the property in 2018.

· The former school building has four classrooms & is located near Indian Lane.

·Could the classrooms help address overcrowding?

· The Township & school district should consider whether programs currently housed at the Roosevelt Community Center could be conducted at the former Middletown Township library on Pennell Road, currently unoccupied.

Elwyn Institute – Agricultural fields & campus Route 352

· Elwyn owns substantial agricultural fields along Route 352. Could any of this property be available for educational use or a partnership?

·Institutional, residential, educational, & support campus; includes open land & fields.

Edgmont Square Shopping Center 4855 West Chester Pike

· Previously considered by RTMSD – Owner reportedly willing to consider a very long-term lease in 2022, but not a sale.

· Also a recently closed restaurant & banquet facility - Trattoria Giuseppi, Mercato Alfredo's in same shopping center.

Email worktogetherrtmsd@gmail.com to stay informed, ask questions, receive updates.

A state-of-the-art building serving children for just two years should not take priority over the long-term needs of students who will spend the next four elementary-school years in existing buildings constructed between 1913 and 1962.

A $92.5+ million decision deserves a comprehensive district-wide plan. All reasonable alternatives should be evaluated, with transparent construction & operating-cost comparisons, meaningful public input, & consideration of the needs of every school & every grade level student.