The fate of Seventh Street Elementary could be decided Aug. 11.

Franklin Area School Board on Monday voted to hold an Act 38 hearing to determine the fate of Seventh Street Elementary.

The public hearing on the matter of possibly closing the school and sending the students to Central Elementary is slated for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, at the high school.

The surprise motion, not included on the board's agenda, was made by William Deal and seconded by Dr. David Andres. Both are members of the board's ad hoc subcommittee on building matters.

The motion was approved by a vote of 5 to 2, with Deal, Andres, board president Patricia Moore, Constance Bailey and Colleen Scurry voting in favor and David Greene and William Lucia voting against. Deal made the same motion last month, but it died for lack of a second.

Prior to the vote, however, the board engaged in a chicken-and-egg debate as it attempted to determine which building decision it should make first - the one concerning Central Elementary or the one concerning Seventh Street.

Deal argued that scheduling the public hearing about possibly closing Seventh Street would force board members to decide that issue and help narrow the renovation options for Central.

The board is considering five options for Central ranging from doing only the needed renovations to adding three or six classrooms to house students from Seventh Street. Another option considers adding administration offices at Central. The estimated cost of the options ranges from $10.2 to $12.1 million.

Before he seconded the motion, Andres argued that "the only way for the district to move forth with decreasing (enrollment) numbers" is to move from six elementary schools to three over a period of several years. The first step in such a move would be adding classrooms at Central and using Seventh Street for district administrative offices, he said.

Further steps, if enrollment declines should merit them, would include closing Polk and sending those students to Utica and Sandycreek. The final step with further declines, would be closing Utica and sending those students to Central, he said.

"This isn't saying it's going to close. It's just forcing everybody's hand," Deal said.

Lucia made a motion to table Deal's motion (about scheduling the Act 38 hearing) until next week, to allow time for public notification and for absent board members Catherine Bollinger and Diane Thompson to be present. Greene seconded Lucia's motion, but Lucia's motion was defeated by a vote of 4 to 3, with Moore, Andres, Bailey and Deal voting against and Lucia, Greene and Scurry voting in favor.

Greene questioned the wisdom of voting on the Act 38 hearing without public notice.

"Everyone living around Seventh Street already feels we're cutting deals in a back room," he said.

"This is just moving forward," Deal protested. "You can vote for it or against it. This just says we will hold a meeting (hearing) in 15 days and it will be another 90 days before we can vote on it."

"I have talked to the people at Seventh Street," Deal added. "They are saying, 'Give us a direction.'"

"But what is the purpose of the public hearing," Greene pressed.

"To get public input," Superintendent Ronald Paranick said.

"But for what?" Greene asked.

"Relating to the closing of the school," Paranick said.

"You start the process to come to that (decision)," Bailey argued.

"When you start the process, your intent is to close it," Greene said.

"There is no other way to do it," Bailey said. "We can decide what we want to do. But we have to have the Act 38 (hearing) first."

"I don't understand calling for the Act 38 (hearing) before you decide what you want to do," Greene continued.

Greene turned to district solicitor Joseph J. Liotta III for his opinion, asking if an Act 38 hearing does not already presuppose the intent to close a school.

Liotta argued that the board cannot chose a renovation option for Central that includes closing Seventh Street if it has not already held the Act 38 hearing.

"You can't make a motion (that includes closing) Seventh Street until you have an Act 38 hearing," Liotta said.

"In practice, that's not how it happens," Greene persisted and pointed to Act 38 hearings held in Pittsburgh as well as neighboring districts.

Greene also objected to the fact that the motion was not included on the board's agenda.

Lucia asked if numbers would be available prior to the hearing on potential cost savings or added costs of each of the five renovation options.

Paranick indicated transportation costs would increase by about $25,000 if Seventh Street students were sent to Central. On the other hand, if enrollment levels remain the same, the consolidation would eliminate the need for three teachers (who would not be replaced), a savings of roughly $165,000, he said.

Lucia then asked what award Seventh Street is in line for.

Paranick indicated the school is in the running for recognition from the state as a Blue Ribbon School for outstanding academic achievement. The district will learn in September or October if the school was selected for the award, he said.

With that, the vote passed and the hearing was scheduled for next month.