Common Sense Plea to RTM School Board Regarding 3rd St. Project

The following presentation was made to the RTM School Board at the session held 9/27/12.

I am a parent of two children attending district schools, one at Media Elementary and one at Springton Lake.  I am here tonight to speak on a topic that I have been told, as a resident of Rose Tree Media School District, "does not concern me" and has furthermore been specified, "should be of no concern to the Rose Tree Media School Board" via statements made by certain members of Media Borough Council.

Surely you have heard about the issues and debate surrounding the PennDOT funded re-establishment of the thoroughfare between Media Borough and Upper Providence known as the Third Street Bridge.

Several organizations including Middletown and Upper Providence Townships, as well as this board, have clearly communicated the need for two-way vehicle traffic in and out of Media at this location. These entities have been questioned as to why they are expressing an opinion on a matter that has been stated by different Media council members, "beyond the scope of their authority" and "has no financial impact" to these surrounding communities.

I am here to show you why—and to request your help in making this information transparent to EVERY taxpayer that resides in the RTM school district. We know that RTM is comprised of not just Media Borough, but Middletown, Upper Providence, and Edgemont townships. We are a COMMUNITY - not unilateral in name or government, but comprised of several.

Back in March 2012, in preparation for a community input meeting surrounding the design and construction of the bridge, I had contacted the RTM transportation department to pose some questions and get some estimates of how the closure of this road affected the bus routes. At that time, the assistant transportation manager estimated that approximately 30 bus routes per day are re-routed around that road closure. While this affected my children attending Media Elementary, the bulk of the routes affected borough students attending both Springton Lake and Penncrest - which I might point out are located in Upper Providence and Middletown respectively.

Let's dig into this further: I pulled page 12 of 22 from the 2012-13 RTM General Fund Budget, itemizing which dollars go into which cost centers to fund all operations.

In section 2000, titled "Support Services," the second largest expenditure we incur as a district is a transportation budget of approximately $4.8 million. In a conservative estimate, based on the cost per gallon of gas (which I should not need to remind is approaching $4/gallon) and the average MPG of the large passenger buses we can estimate a $10 per route, per day impact to circumvent this non operating roadway. At 30 affected routes, that comes to $300 per day.  At 180 school days per year, that translates to $54,000 of taxpayer dollars needed to divert school children around Third Street. 

I don't live in Media Borough, but those are MY tax dollars, just as they are my neighbor's and any other taxpayer within this district yet outside of the borough.  Now, some may criticize that $54,000 out of an $88 million dollar budget may not be significant - but could that mean an extra SmartBoard, additional laptops, or another playground assistant? WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE AT TAXPAYER DISREGARD???!?!

Last week Media Borough Council voted to disregard a and communicate to PennDOT their desire for a one lane roadway from Upper Providence into Media. While there was a statement from a singular Media councilperson that "exceptions would be made for emergency vehicles" at no time was school transportation addressed. I am presenting to you a valid, tangible and quantifiable measure of why the RTM school board should most definitely have a say in this matter. You represent ALL the students and families that live within the district, not just one municipality. This blatant disregard to the financial implication of a selfish decision benefiting so few, yet impacting so many, should not be tolerated.

I have been made aware that this decision would force Media Borough back into the courts to defend their position on the one way resolution in light of the standing court order. To that end, I am asking for this board to work with me and  my committee to provide access to the most accurate representation of bus routes, costs, and other tangibles that can be presented to the County Council in light of the irresponsible and negligent resolution voted on by Media Borough Council last week.

I appreciate your time, attention, and service to the community at large. Thank you.