KITTANNING — Judge Kenneth Valasek dismissed preliminary objections filed by Armstrong School District attorneys, allowing a case to reapportion the voting regions to move forward.
The suit — filed Feb. 16 by attorney Chuck Pascal on behalf of Gretchen Dosch of Applewold and Cheryl Zboran of North Buffalo — seeks to reapportion the voting regions of the school district from the current nine to three, each with three directors. Each region would represent about 14,000 voters.
The women allege that the regions are in violation of the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions because they were not reapportioned after the 2000 Census and the Pennsylvania School Code, which requires equality among regions.
Earlier this month, attorneys representing the district argued that it would be better to wait until next year when the 2010 Census numbers are released, as opposed to having to complete the redistricting twice in two years.
Pascal said the district attorneys can, if they wish, submit an alternate redistricting plan by May 14 and schedule a status conference in June to further discuss the suit.
The regions proposed in the lawsuit are:
Region 1, including Worthington Borough and East Franklin, Manor, Pine, Rayburn, Valley, Washington and West Franklin townships;
Region 2, including Applewold, Ford City, Ford Cliff, Kittanning, Manorville and West Kittanning boroughs and Bethel, Cadogan and North Buffalo townships;
Region 3, including Atwood, Dayton, Elderton, Rural Valley and Smicksburg boroughs and Boggs, Burrell, Cowanshannock, Kittanning, Plumcreek, South Bend, Wayne and West Mahoning townships.
Currently, school directors are elected in nine regions:
• Region 1 — Boggs, Pine, Rayburn and Wayne townships and Dayton Borough
• Region 2 — Atwood, Rural Valley and Smicksburg boroughs and Cowanshannock, Valley and West Mahoning townships.
• Region 3 — Bethel, Burrell and Kittanning townships.
• Region 4 — North Buffalo and West Franklin townships and Worthington Borough.
• Region 5 — Elderton Borough and Plumcreek and South Bend townships.
• Region 6 — Cadogan Township and Ford City and Ford Cliff boroughs.
• Region 7 — Kittanning Borough.
• Region 8 — Applewold and West Kittanning boroughs and East Franklin and Washington townships.
• Region 9 — Manor Township and Manorville Borough.
The above was a Leader Times article.
Below are the proposed new regions with the current board member representing that region. As you can see, it looks as though all attendance areas will be represented in two regions each.
Region I
East Franklin - Rearic
Manor - MJM
Pine - Yassem
Rayburn - Yassem
Valley - Monroe
Washington - Rearic
West Franklin - Close
Worthington - Close
Region II
Applewold - Rearic
Bethel - Stitt
Cadogan - Solak
Ford City - Solak
Ford Cliff - Solak
Kittanning Borough - Choncek
Manorville - MJM
North Buffalo - Close
West Kittanning - Rearic
Region III
Atwood - Monre
Boggs - Yassem
Burrell - Stitt
Cowanshannock - Monnroe
Dayton - Yassem
Elderton - Smeltzer
Kittanning Township - Stitt
Plumcreek - Smeltzer
Rural Valley - Monroe
Smicksburg - Monroe
South Bend - Smeltzer
Wayne - Yassem
West Mahoning - Monroe
Who we are
- HERC-ACT
- Armstrong County, PA
- Helping Education while Reuniting our County ASD Community Team Mission Statement: To promote good governance and ensure quality education while maintaining fiscal responsibility for all in Armstrong County. Who we are: A group of taxpayers, striving for a better education for the students of the Armstrong School District. Members are from Bethel, Boggs, Burrell Twp., Dayton, East Franklin, Elderton, Ford City, Kittanning Twp., Manor and Pine.
