District mulls Montandon’s future

After the closing of Montandon Elementary School, the school board is moving forward with a potential five-year lease agreement.

Montandon Elementary officially closed on June 30 after several school board meetings and public hearings. According to District Superintendent Dr. Cathy Keegan, the school was closed due to declining enrollment, the cost savings for the district and the possibility for alternative revenue sources through lease agreements.

Dr. Keegan said all six teachers from Montandon Elementary were relocated to Baugher Elementary. Other faculty, such as the special education case manager, reading specialist and speech therapist, were moved to Baugher Elementary, she said, adding that one guidance counselor was moved to White Deer Elementary.

“The faculty embraced the opportunity to be a part of a team of teachers teaching the same grade level rather than a team teaching all different grade levels,” Dr. Keegan said. She added that all of the teachers who traveled to two or all of the elementary schools now either stay in one building or only move between White Deer Elementary and Baugher Elementary.

According to Dr. Keegan, administrators from each building in the district were given the chance to go through the contents of Montandon Elementary and choose what they would like to take for their respective schools. All of the leftover contents were decommissioned and will be sold at an auction on Oct. 24, she added.

Dr. Keegan said all of the former Montandon Elementary students were relocated to Baugher Elementary. “There are reports from faculty that [the former Montandon Elementary students] are happy to be with their old friends and happy to be making new friends,” Dr. Keegan added.

Dr. Keegan said traffic at Baugher Elementary was initially an issue. After moving the buses to a different parking spot, the transportation issues were solved, she added.

According to Dr. Keegan, the last phase of the roof repair at Montandon Elementary is nearly finished. She added the first two phases of the project were completed while the students were in the building because the roof was leaking. She said the roof repairs cost $308,560.

Dr. Keegan said West Chillisquaque Township Attorney Mr. Robert Benion is researching state school codes pertaining to the shutdown of schools to see if the Milton Area School District followed them correctly and may proceed with a lawsuit against the school district. “PA School Code and Case Law supports the process that the Milton Area School District implemented to close Montandon Elementary,” she added.

According to Dr. Keegan, the school board plans to lease the former Montandon Elementary building to the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU). “[The] CSIU has re-entered into its original lease agreement for one year,” she said. The original lease decision had to be made by Sept. 30, meaning there was not enough to make a special application for leasing and meet with the zoning board meeting, she added.

She said the CSIU is planning to convert the building into a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) training center. Dr. Keegan said the LPN center will be for adults and will prepare its students for the healthcare workforce. She added that the school district is looking to create a health technology Career and Technical Education (CTE) course at Milton High School that will connect with the CSIU program.

Dr. Keegan said the organization under the lease will have to pay monthly rent, which includes bills for utilities and grounds care.

According to Dr. Keegan, an annual increase in the rent is included in the lease. “This means that an organization will be paying a certain amount to start but after one or two years their rent costs will increase,” she added. Dr. Keegan said any other renovations to the building will be funded by the organization leasing the building.

White Deer Elementary Principal Mr. Phillip Heggenstaller, previously Montandon Elementary’s principal, said he spends the majority of his time at White Deer Elementary after Montandon Elementary’s closure. Mr. Heggenstaller added he also helps out at Baugher Elementary more now.

Mr. Heggenstaller said the former Montandon Elementary students’ transition to Baugher Elementary has gone well. “I have been in several classrooms at Baugher where I found former Montandon Elementary School students making new friends at Baugher and enjoying their new school and what it has to offer them. On several occasions former Montandon students have shared with me they love Baugher and their new teacher(s),” he added.

Mr. Heggenstaller said he thinks the staff has made a smooth transition from Montandon to Baugher Elementary. All of the elementary teachers across the schools work together in grade-level teams, so it took little time for the staff to transition to working in the same building, he added.