Cheltenham School District officials discussed the details of the proposed closing of the Elkins Park School during the public hearing on February 26, Mainline Media News reported.

According to their coverage, superintendent Dr. Brian Scriven said the district began considering closing the school in 2023. A feasibility study determined the facility had surpassed its useful life, and the cost of rebuilding was projected to be between $65 million and $80 million.

A closure and relocation of the fifth and sixth grade students at Elkins Park School was projected to cost $34.7 million. The district’s schools would be gradually reconfigured into a K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 structure beginning in 2025-26, Mainline Media said.

Construction of a wing for sixth grade at Cedarbrook Middle School and a six-classroom addition at Glenside Elementary School are both in the building design and permitting phase, with construction to begin in 2026-27. Completion is expected in summer 2027 with the new building to open in fall 2027.

Cheltenham and Wyncote elementary schools will have assistant principals appointed in 2025-26, and additional teachers will be hired at Cheltenham, Glenside, Myers and Wyncote elementaries to accommodate fifth grade, Mainline Media said.

The board will vote to close the school 90 days after the hearing. Written comments may be submitted to the administration until March 28.

More details about the public hearing, including slides, can be found here.

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