Pleas to Preserve Leetsdale Neighborhood Appear to Have Fallen on Deaf Ears

[Quaker Valley School Board Bullies Residents and Waste Taxpayer Money Again!]

A group of residents who live in the 700 block of Beaver Street were surprised when they of a sneak attack planned by the school board to ruin their quiet neighborhood by tearing down houses and replacing them with a parking lot. This caused the residents to ban together and .

Residents complained about never being told about the plan, 80- and 90-year-old residents being , or agree to a low offer, Leetsdale tax revenue loss, the destruction of the well established and beautiful aesthetics of the family neighborhood, and that if they get away with bullying here they can get away with it in any other neighborhood.

None of the homes were even for sale when families were approached by the school board and complete disregard was shown by never gathering input from the families which would be impacted.

A letter from the school board president and superintendent dated March 29, 2012, to families stated that this plan has been discussed with municipal authorities over the years. 

We have looked into minutes from Leetsdale Borough Council meetings for the past six-plus years, and there has been no mention of meeting with Quaker Valley School District regarding this plan. 

If there was a meeting, it would have been behind closed doors.

The residents attended so far, but their pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Although school board members claimed that their plan was very tentative, their actions showed the contrary. They already managed to purchase one house in the middle of the block without knowing if any others would willingly sell.

School Board President Jack Norris, [who is also a commercial real-estate executive], appeared to be more interested in explaining the eminent domain process that they have a right to.

The school board’s sole explanation for the plan was to prevent students from being dropped off by parents in front of the . This proposed plan calls into question the safety of and students who walk to the high school because they will need to cross two additional lanes of traffic dedicated to a student drop-off area. 

One resident impacted is Bob Ford, who serves and Franklin Park as and has extensive knowledge on traffic/safety issues from serving our community for 17 years as a police officer. He provided the school board with many alternative, safe options that would not uproot families, ruin neighborhoods, be less expensive to taxpayers and should be seriously considered.

We ask all Q.V. taxpayers to help stop this unnecessary spending and take over of our neighborhood. The next school board meeting is at 7 p.m. April 17.

Sincerely,

Residents of the 700 Block of Beaver Street in Leetsdale: Sandy and Bob Ford, Joseph and Judy McGurk, Virginia Schneider, Amy Arnold and Frank Munizza