WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP — A decision on a major redistricting plan for the fast-growing Lakota Schools won't come for another two weeks, while educators re-think the attendance areas for Liberty and Hopewell junior schools.

        Hopewell Junior School teacher Tom Howard this week presented the board of education a petition signed by 46 of the school's 70 teachers who were concerned with the drop in enrollment, if the redistricting plan were approved. Under the plan Hopewell's enrollment would drop from today's 743 to 579 students.

        That drop, Mr. Howard said, would make it difficult to continue the school's teaming program - begun nearly 10 years ago - that has been replicated at other junior schools. It would also mean a significant drop in the number of coaching and other extracurricular positions, added teacher Ron Henrich.

        “We know (the numbers) are going to drop. We don't want them to drop so far that we can't do our team work,” Mr. Howard said. “We're not going to have a lot of growth to bring the numbers back up.”

        The original redistricting plan moved Lakota Springs subdivision from Liberty Junior to Hopewell Junior. But the revised plan kept it at Liberty Junior, keeping the neighborhood together at the junior school level. The original redistricting plan left the as-yet-undeveloped section of Four Bridges Subdivision north of Princeton Road in Liberty Junior attendance area while moving the developed section to Hopewell Junior.

        The revised plan moved both sections to Hopewell Junior School.

        “I think this is a first — a building asking to be bigger, not smaller,” said Sandy Wheatley, president of the Lakota Board of Education.

        Board members said at their meeting Tuesday evening that they were concerned about the potential growth in the Liberty Junior School boundaries and lack of growth in Hopewell Junior's boundaries.

        They plan to use the next two weeks to further study growth potential and look at the pros and cons of the revised plan.

        “Are we setting ourselves up that we're going to have to redistrict again in a few years (if this plan is approved)?" said board member Dan Warncke.

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