CLIFTON HEIGHTS, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — In just a few weeks, the freshly painted halls of the newly constructed Clifton Heights Middle School will welcome 800 new students.
“The major driving factor for the school is trying to reduce the overcrowding in our other two middle schools,” said Upper Darby School District Superintendent Dan McGarry. “It will allow us to reduce the overall population at Beverly Hills Middle School and Drexel Hill Middle School that had been functioning at 1,300 and 1,500 students.”
Now, all of its middle schools will have less than 1,000 students.
McGarry said this project did not come easy. The school district has spent years negotiating with the borough and in court to build the school on its own property.
“The borough expressed that the decision to merge Clifton Heights with the UDSD in the early 1970s left the community upset for many years, with concerns ultimately leading to court proceedings,” he said.
“If we could have started the project when we wanted to, it would have been around $65-70 million. Now you’re looking at a middle school that’s going to come in between $90-100 million.”
The ribbon-cutting for the new school is Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Upper Darby School District
Athletic fields for both the district and the community are expected to be built when construction on the school is complete.
Despite the project's previous challenges, McGarry said the district's relationship with the borough is currently in a good place.
“We are pleased to have built a positive partnership with the borough and proud that, together, we created a modern, state-of-the-art school for Clifton Heights students.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of the story listed the ribbon-cutting date as Oct. 8.
