975 c r The Susquehanna Bulle- tin will not be published Wednesday, July 9. It will come out Wednes- day, July 2, skip a week, then resume regular weekly publication Wednesday, July 16. SUSQ Vol. 75 No. 25 June 25, 1975 LJ ili -y w' ile Manng coy, Pa. wo a -Qnyder UEHANNA BULLETIN Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Bulletin MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA. Ten Cents Lower Rapho Township wants to join the Donegal School District Some junior and senior high school students in lower Rapho Township live within sight of Donegal High School; yet, they have to travel 13 miles to Manheim Central High School in Manheim, because all of Rapho Township is part of the Manheim Central School Distrecit. Some of these students spend two hours every school day riding on school buses. Because there are no activities buses in the Manheim Central Districts, many of these students are unable to participate in band, dramatics, and sports. Theirs and their families’ social life is cen- tered in places other than Manheim. They feel left out in school. When they graduate there is a blank space under their pictures, where extracurricular activi- ties are normally listed. Petition Circulated To remedy this situation for their children a commit- tee headed by Mrs. Carol Miller, Newtown or (‘“‘Drytown’’), has petition- ed the courts to make lower Rapho Township an inde- pendent school district, which would then transfer students from Manheim Central to Donegal schools. (Previously, Mrs. Miller had headed a movement which was successful in getting bussing for kindergarten children.) The committee secured 266 signatures on their petition, more than a major- ity of the 481 taxable residents of lower Rapho Township, the area bounded by the Big and Little Chicques Creeks on the east, west, and south, and by the main line of the Penn Central Railroad on the north. County Judge William G. Johnstone, Jr., has signed a rule to serve a preliminary order on State Secretary of Education, John C. Pitten- ger. If Pittenger approves of the move, there will be a public hearing soon on the proposed changes held by both the Donegal and Manheim Central . School Boards. Some Oppose Move Although a majority of the taxable residents of the lower Rapho area have signed the petition asking for the move to Donegal, some residents are unhappy about the proposed move. Robert T. Musser Some opponents of the move who own property in the area are afraid that property taxes will have to be greatly increased to finance the move. They believe they will be asked not only to help pay for ongoing expenses in the Donegal District, but also to pay their share of past costs of Donegal school buildings. Drawing by Ramona Sell These opponents say that a large number of the people signing the petition do not own property and conse- quently will not be bearing the increased tax burden. They also state that a large number of the signers did not know what they were signing and that some of them have regretted sign- ing. Some critics of the pro- posed move said that the Manheim Central District would not mind giving up lower Rapho to the Donegal District, because a lot of people with children have moved into the area who do not pay property taxes; tax income from lower Rapho no longer exceeds the cost of educating children from the area, as it used to. Musser Outspoken Critic Most outspoken critic of changing school districts a year and a half ago was Robert T. Musser, who moved his family to lower Rapho because he wanted his son Jeff to attend schools in the Manheim Central District. Musser maintains that although he does not want a change in schools, he would prefer a move of children to the Hempfield District, which is just as close as the Donegal District. He says that he spoke to members of the committee circulating the petition and asked them to call a meeting of lower Rapho residents before sub- mitting the petition. A ‘major topic he wanted to discuss at that meeting was the possibility of drawing a line through lower Rapho, “affiliated ANE one side of the area to be with the- Hempfield District, the other side with the Donegal District. Standing in his backyard, Musser pointed to the Farmdale Elementary School of the Hempfield District, a short distance away across the Big Chic- ques Creek. He feels the committee did not consider the wishes of a large number of residents. He also feels that the problem of lower Rapho is not unique, but exists all over the state. There are many areas where children attend schools further away than nearby schools in other districts. He urges State Representative Kenneth Brandt to investigate the problem of distance to schools on a state-wide basis, and encourage long- range planning, instead of hasty, local, and impulsive action. Musser concludes, ‘‘Hf this move goes through we might have a bigger mon- ster on our hands than we have now...” Problems in Proposed Move Both David E. McKalips, superintendant of the Man- heim Central District, and Ragnar F. Hallgren, Jr., superintendant of the Done- gal District, see logic in the arguments of the committee which circulated the peti- tion. (continued on page 7) M.J.H.S. class of’50 gets together Story and more photos on page 14 Photo by James Beck Mr. and Mrs. W. 1. Beahm at Beahm Jr. High
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