Published Thursday, January 2, 2003
process
to leave
Farrell schools
Herald Staff Writer
A group of Wheatland residents has petitioned Mercer County Court of Common Pleas to have their children transferred from Farrell to West Middlesex schools.
The petition filed Dec. 12 for WhEAT consists of four pages, followed by several pages of signatures.
The petition calls for the creation of an independent school district for the borough of Wheatland. All students living in the borough could be enrolled in the new district, which would then transfer the students to West Middlesex schools.
According to the petition, the move would be in the best interest of the students.
The petition says:
» Students in the West Middlesex Area School District are exposed to a superior curriculum resulting from the district's strategic planning and are not exposed to teenage pregnancy and parenting, drug use, gang activity, and other social problems to the extent students (in Farrell) are.
» The petitioners don't view Farrell schools as a safe and stable learning environment.
» West Middlesex schools produce students that are "motivated and goal-oriented."
» The petitioners are concerned that Wheatland students must walk to Farrell schools along unpaved state highways.
The petition was filed Joann M. Jofery, attorney for Wheatland's Educational Alternatives Taskforce, or WhEAT. The group, which circulated the petitions to secede from the Farrell Area School District, formed in 2000 after a series of community meetings.
Farrell school board President Lester Robinson Jr. said he was disappointed with WhEAT's actions.
"We can't afford to lose any of our students," Robinson said. "I wish they had approached us with their concerns, and maybe we could have worked something out."
Robinson said that while he personally attended some of the group's meetings, members of WhEAT had never approached the school board with their concerns.
The petition, he said, breaks down the student body into Farrell students and Wheatland students. In one of its clauses, the petition claims the school district has not acted in the best interest of the Wheatland students.
"You can come and walk through the school with me," Robinson said, "and you will not be able to tell the Wheatland kids from the Farrell kids. We don't separate them."
Robinson said he had read a copy of the petition, and disagreed with many of the statements in it, including the one that Farrell schools are unsafe.
"If you look across the (Shenango) valley, Farrell has no more and no less problems than any other school," he said. "They needed to make up reasons for their petition."
Representatives of West Middlesex Area School District were not available for comment.
A recorded message at Ms. Jofery's office said the law office was closed for the New Year's holiday, and she could not be reached for comment.
A hearing on the petition is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 4 at the courthouse in Mercer.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com