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New Wissahickon Superintendent Approved Despite Protests
Wiss Now's weekly newsletter
James Kratch
November 06, 2024
Photo by James Short
Welcome back to Wiss Now’s weekly newsletter! Gwynedd Mercy Academy’s annual winter coat drive is underway. You can drop off donations at the high school or the Lower Gwynedd Township Building through Nov. 19; more details can be found here.
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In This Week's Email:
📆 Upcoming Nearby Events
Thursday, Nov. 7
🎤 Rich Vos | Well Crafted Beer Co. in Lansdale | Doors open at 7 p.m., more details here
Saturday, Nov. 9
👖 Second Saturday Barn Sale | St. Thomas Whitemarsh in Fort Washington | 8 a.m to 12 p.m., more details here
🍓 Ambler Farmers’ Market | 29 West Butler Pike | 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
🎄 Holiday Craft & Vendor Show | Conshohocken United Methodist Church | 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., more details here
📱 Electronics Recycling Day | North Penn High | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., more details here
🍁 Harvest Festival | Peter Wentz Farmstead in Lansdale | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., more details here
🧶 Second Saturday Craft Fair | Retreat to St. Thomas in Fort Washington | 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., more details here
🎹 Dan Kennedy | Gwynedd Friends Meeting | 8 p.m., more details here
Sunday, Nov. 10
🎭 Pinkalicious: The Musical | Keswick Theatre in Glenside | 1 p.m., more details here
🗣️ School Board Powers Through Pushback
The Wissahickon Board of School Directors stiff-armed public outcry on Monday night and unanimously approved Dr. Mwenyewe Dawan as the district’s new superintendent. Dawan, the current assistant superintendent, will receive a five-year contract and replace the outgoing James Crisfield on July 1, 2025.
The 9-0 vote came 35 days after Crisfield's retirement and the board's intention to elevate Dawan were revealed simultaneously at the Sept. 30 board meeting. Which, many critics argued, was the problem. Several people railed against the board's unilateral haste to anoint Dawan without a thorough, transparent search process in contentious public comment sections at the Oct. 7 meeting. The recently-formed Wissahickon School District Stakeholders then held a pre-meeting protest this week before more public comments in this vein during it.
But the board (and its legal team) held firm. Its policy states does not state it must conduct a full search with multiple candidates considered and public input. It just has to create a process to hire a new superintendent, which in this case was immediately turning to the in-house candidate.
Photo by James Short
🏘️ Living In Gwynedd Valley Ain’t Cheap
An unincorporated community inside Lower Gwynedd Township is one of Pennsylvania's most expensive enclaves, according to a new Forbes report.
Gwynedd Valley — zip code 19437, located along Plymouth Road and sitting southwest of the Wissahickon Creek -- is the state's fifth-priciest zip according to September 2024 housing sales and the average median income home values over a 12-month period. The zip code's median home value crossed the $1 million threshold in September, according to the study.
Gwynedd Valley is only surpassed by Gladwyne (19035), Villanova (19085), Carversville (18913), and Haverford (19041) in that order. The complete rankings list can be found here.
🗞️ News Links
🚌 Controversial Bus Depot Plan In Fort Washington
There is another school board kerfuffle in the area.
A proposal to build a bus depot near Fort Washington Elementary School in Upper Dublin is meeting fierce resistance from neighborhood residents. They argue it will lower property values of the surrounding single-unit houses and rowhomes, as well as diminish quality of life and endanger public safety. Residents are also decrying the “grotesque” zoning code exemptions being sought by the Upper Dublin Board of School Directors.
The proposal:
A 10,517 square-foot facility (600 square feet is the current maximum allowed) that is 30.5-feet high (current maximum is 22 feet) with an eight-foot fence (two feet higher than current code).
Close to 120 parking spaces and base infrastructure for future electric vehicle purchases, as well as permission to park more than one commercial vehicle exceeding 9,000 pounds in a residential area.
Changes to current public access and drop-off routes at the school to “keep parents and visitors separate from school district traffic.”
The facility would be used for vehicle maintenance, parts storage and office space.
The civil engineer who created the site plan said it adheres to setbacks requirements of adjacent residences and “will not alter the character of the neighborhood nor impair the use of adjacent properties.” Landscaping would also be installed “to provide a natural screen of the facility from adjacent properties.”
The project will next be discussed at a zoning meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 25 at the Upper Dublin Public Library.
🤿 Big Parks and Rec Projects On Tap
Whitpain Township has received a $1.7 million state grant to build a community center that will include two basketball courts, a fitness center, an elevated walking track, meeting rooms and other features.
Also: Upper Gwynedd is in the final stages of finalizing a long-term parks and recreation plan, including significant overhauls to the Nor-Gwyn Pool Complex and the Park-Sci Playground. You can read more about that proposal in the latest weekly newsletter from North Penn Now, Wiss Now’s sibling site. Another network site, Central Bucks Now, also has a weekly newsletter similar to this one.
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📍In Other Nearby News
🏟️ Play Ball
For more on local sports, subscribe to our Philly sports newsletter, On Pattison (sent 5x per week):
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🐶 Rescue of the Week
Meet KitKat, a 12-week-old Labrador Retriever mix. He is currently being fostered in Furlong through Home At Last Dog Rescue. KitKat is a very happy puppy who loves to meet new people and snuggle. He gets along with other dogs, is making good progress on being crate- and house trained and would be a great addition to almost any type of home.
If you are interested in adopting KitKat or would like more information, you can reach out to Home At Last Dog Rescue at [email protected] or visit its website.
Photo by James Short
📊 Vote In Our Latest Poll
What are your thoughts on the Wissahickon superintendent situation?Let us know what you think! |
Thanks for reading! See you next week. Be sure to follow Wiss Now on Facebook.