Brian Hagberg
RUSSELL, Pa. – The Warren County School District released an FAQ document related to the ongoing Master Facilities Plan process on Friday afternoon.
In a social media post, the district said Friday’s release was just the “first version” of the document and will be updated throughout the planning process.
“The first version of a FAQ document is to provide factual information of many of the questions, comments and concerns,” the district said.
This version has 11 FAQs answered by the district. Question No. 4 (What options are currently on the table?) has been the one seemingly causing the most consternation for county residents.
The district’s answer is a single word, “none.”
Residents in at least two attendance areas, East (Sheffield) and West (Youngsville), feel their respective high schools are in serious danger of being closed and have begun organizing a group dedicated to keeping them open and held a town hall meeting on Feb. 19.
Specifically, they wanted to discuss what options they had to ensure that both Youngsville and Sheffield High Schools would remain open, not just next year, but into the foreseeable future.
“We’re in the middle of a battle to keep our schools open,” Nate Lindberg, one of the meeting’s organizers, said. “If you didn’t think the time (to fight) is now. It’s now.”
In the FAQ document, the district also released current and historical student enrollment data. According to the document, student enrollment is down at each of the district’s four public high schools (Eisenhower, Sheffield, Warren, and Youngsville) by more than 50% since the 1979-80 school year.
According to the document, Eisenhower’s total attendance is down 54% (550 in 79-80 to 251 in 22-23), Sheffield is down 68% (414 to 134), Warren is down 52% (1,435* to 692), and Youngsville is down 60% (500 to 198). Total student enrollment district-wide is down 56% (2,899 to 1,275).
There is an item on the Physical Plants & Facilities Committee Meeting agenda for Monday’s meeting listed as “Master Facilities Planning Update.” As of 2:15 p.m. Sunday, no additional information or documentation was included on that agenda item.
Monday’s meeting, set to begin at 6 p.m. at Central Office (or via Zoom), will be the last before the district’s first public engagement session (March 8).
