The school district has seen many significant changes in these past few years, with and without the COVID-19 safety procedures and stipulations. After much deliberation, Shaler has decided to retire the Jeffrey Primary building as a school by confirming the sale of the property to the township. According to superintendent Sean Aiken, this decision has been nearly a three year project for the district, as various groups expressed interest in the building at different times and the district wanted to make the most beneficial choice.

Not only has the Township of Shaler shown interest, but Mt. Alvernia, a day care and learning facility in Millvale, had plans to purchase the project in the beginning until they ultimately decided to stay at their current location. The district still struggled to make a solid decision though, as Mt. Alvernia regained interest in the property.

“This has definitely been a significant burden to me and to the district, trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do,” Aiken said. “We’ve worked closely with our school board and our township and Mt. Alvernia and other groups and our realtor and all kinds of different people over the years, trying to figure out what to do.”

Other deciding factors have heavily impacted the district’s choice–while access to more room for parking was also a main concern for the district, Jeffrey’s location especially made a big difference, since it’s not just in a neighborhood or on Mt. Royal, but it sits in Kiwanis park.

Another concern was for the “130 children in Mt. Alvernia” who are suddenly “not able to stay at their facility for more than two years.” According to Aiken, the facility needs to be relocated in short notice, and the people who use and maintain the center are still in need of a building.

After years of trying to weigh the benefits of selling the property to either group, the district finally came to a solid decision.

“In the end, though, we felt like the right thing to do and the best thing to do was to partner with the township, sell it to the township, and allow them to use it for offices or storage or whatever they’re going to need to use for it. They will benefit from having the property as well because they are looking at potentially expanding the park and creating another pavilion,” Aiken said. “Obviously there would have been value for the district in having Mt. Alvernia there too, but at the same time, I think the benefits that we saw with working with the township outweigh that.”

A main reason behind this decision is the benefits that the school district would get to take advantage of under this new ownership.

“We did write [stipulations about parking and specialty events] in the sales agreement on the contract. If we ever needed to move buildings and grounds, they waive permitting fees, and if we wanted to use the site for certain types of events, we could.”

Not only could the site still be used for field days and special events, but it would also provide the needed parking for big events in the community.

“Parking was one of the key starting points for the township because things like the Fourth of July and baseball tournaments and Fall Fest and other events through the year really require them to have some of that additional parking, so it was going to be very difficult for them if we sold it to a developer that wanted to put townhomes in,” Aiken said.

While parking has been a key selling point, there have been no confirmed intentions of removing the building or entirely renovating the site, but according to Aiken, there has been some discussion about potentially taking down part of the building in the future. Township Manager Tim Rogers claims that  the building will likely be used as a recreational center for the community, but is uncertain about any final decisions.

“The Township is still considering how it will use Jeffrey School. It looks like preliminary plans are for parks and recreation maintenance facility, community great room, retain some class rooms for community use and construct a new 3 season picnic pavilion with rest facilities and warming kitchens,” Rogers said.

While nothing has been set in stone, the Township has been ambitiously planning their new venture with the Jeffrey property. In taking this step, the district hopes that the best decision has been made for the members of the Shaler community and the township.