Letter to the editor: A new life for Penn State New Kensington

Two years from now, the Penn State New Kensington campus will be shuttered. No suggestions for its conversion have been made public, but one that recognizes demographic reality and requires no drastic structural change does exist.

In 1975, Burrell and Valley graduated nearly 900 students combined. The combined 2025 graduating classes totaled 250 students. Penn State New Kensington was built to serve 1,100 students. Merging the Burrell and Valley high schools would bring exactly that number of students together at a site built specifically for education.

I know the merger of the two school districts is off the table for many parents, administrators and old-school partisans here. That is not the proposal. Both Burrell and New-Ken Arnold could keep their elementary and middle schools and school boards. But a merger of the high schools, with joint school board oversight and an independent administration, could be brought about with some hard work and political courage.

These district leaders have a choice. Burrell and New Kensington-Arnold can take the first steps to proactively address their problems, or in the name of an outdated rivalry go their own ways. It would be a shame to see these two districts struggle with aging infrastructure and duplicate administrative staff, unable to field full sports teams or fund new education initiatives, while a beautiful educational institution, built to serve 1,100 students — exactly the number of kids in a combined Burrell-­Valley high school — sits empty.

George Hawdon

Arnold