Council Conditionally Approves K-1 Center Plan

Council voted 5-1 to conditionally approve the preliminary K-1 Center plan Wednesday night. There are 30 conditions and two waivers.

Council Member Campo, who voted against the preliminary plan, was the only Council Member to explain their vote. "During the land planning meetings and in some emails, people made derogatory comments about not just the Linking Learning to Life program, but about the students themselves. There have also been a few, fortunately not many, insulting remarks and emails about people with autism. As a former teacher, that broke my heart. As neighbors, we can do better than this," she said.

"I want to support the K-1 Center as a former teacher, but as a Councilwoman, I was elected to represent District 4, and that is why I voted no, because I heard the voices in District 4," she added.

Not every condition was discussed in the meeting, but here are a few of the most notable.

The conditions say the district must:

Install a modified traffic signal at the realigned Rose Tree Road plus $5,000 in annual maintenance contribution to the township.

Implement reasonable traffic-calming measures on Hunting Hills Lane and up to two other (unspecified) locations within five years of the center opening.

Work out access arrangements so the project doesn't create public safety problems.

Strongly encourage and incentivize K-1 families to use buses instead of cars.

Contribute financially to permanent signs at Longview Park restricting parking to park patrons only.

Permit public use of the K-1 center under the same policies as every other school in the district.

Ensure the synthetic turf field doesn't use 6PPD, which may cause negative health effects.

Review the baseball field netting during final approval.

The longest exchange of the evening was over K-1 families using buses instead of cars for drop-off.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Meloche asked to remove "incentivize" from a condition, since he said it could be read as a financial payment.

Council Member Ciuca asked the district to “share your encouragement plan with us,” saying it shouldn’t be “just a weekly newsletter that a parent barely scans.” The district agreed to share, but there was no resolution on the wording during the meeting.

The K-1 Center is planned to open in September 2029 with kindergarten only, adding first grade the following year. It will bring full day kindergarten to the school district.