At a recent committee meeting, Central Bucks School District advanced plans to renovate or replace up to eight elementary schools, splitting projects into two tracks, write Jess Rohan and Chris Ullery for the Bucks County Courier Times. 

The district will proceed with renovations on five schools, including Barclay, Buckingham, Gayman, Titus, and Warwick. 

Discussions about Doyle, Linden, and Kutz will proceed until spring 2025. Most of the proposals involve closing Linden Elementary, while two add Kutz Elementary to the closing list. 

While some residents opposed the proposed closings, the district believes that merging the three schools is the most cost-effective option. 

A key obstacle to keeping all three schools is Pennsylvania’s Act 34, or the Taj Mahal Act, which limits school construction costs based on size and student population.

To comply, the district might have to expand buildings to raise spending caps. 

The available options include consolidating Doyle, Linden, and Kutz into a single 155,000-square-foot school for $101.3 million or renovating all three for $94 million. The option to rebuild each school at its current size for $126.2 million exceeds Act 34 limits requires a voter referendum. 

Read more about the Central Bucks School District and its plans for its elementary schools in the Bucks County Courier Times. 

______