![\"AllentownSchoolDistrictModularClassrooms.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/834017b\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2804x1578+0+0\/resize\/880x495!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fa2%2F2f%2F42548e6f4ac7946625825f012f4f%2Fallentownschooldistrictmodularclassrooms.jpg\")
<\/p>\nALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 Midway Manor residents fear their neighborhood will lose its identity if Allentown School District takes over its main park.<\/p>\n
District leaders plan to expand Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Immersion Academy in the neighborhood, David Tagg, president of the Midway Manor Community Association, told members at a meeting Monday night.<\/p>\n
Tagg said he met last week with the district’s Chief Operations Officer, Robert Whartonby, who informed him of plans to build 10 modular classrooms.<\/p>\n
That would make room for the academy\u2019s expansion to accommodate another grade level.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jason Addy<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
LehighValleyNews.com <\/p>\n
The Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Immersion Academy uses a modular classrooms to serve its students. Allentown School District officials are eyeing plans that include 10 modular classrooms. <\/p>\n
It now uses one modular classroom as it serves students in pre-K through second grade. <\/p>\n
The district plans to add another grade each school year until the academy serves students through fifth grade.<\/p>\n
The district also plans to demolish the association\u2019s concession stand, Tagg said to gasps from many in the room at the Meals on Wheels headquarters on North Sherman Street.<\/p>\n
Whartenby signaled the district is ready to move quickly, with hopes to have the modular classrooms in place by the start of the 2026-27 academic year, Tagg said.<\/p>\n
‘Ignored, as usual’<\/p>\n
Alice Romberger, vice president of Midway Manor Community Association, on Monday night emphasized the organization supports the Sonia Sotomayor Academy and credited teachers and staff for doing \u201cphenomenal\u201d work.<\/p>\n
Romberger said \u201cit\u2019s important\u201d for students to have adequate classrooms and recognized the need for modular classrooms as the school expands. <\/p>\n
But she urged district officials and planners to find a \u201cdifferent configuration\u201d that would preserve the concession stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the red-headed bastard stepchild here [on the East Side]. We\u2019ve always been the red-headed bastard stepchild.\u201d<\/p>\n
David Tagg, president of the Midway Manor Community Association<\/p>\n
\u201cThe snack shed is \u2026 the heart of Midway Manor,\u201d Romberger said, because it helps fund its sporting programs, holiday celebrations and other community engagement efforts.<\/p>\n
The loss of the concession stand would mean the \u201closs of our community identity, the loss of our income,\u201d Tagg said.<\/p>\n
The neighborhood organization has used the school district’s property since the mid-1950s, according to Tagg.<\/p>\n
District officials \u201chave no idea what we do\u201d at the concession stand, he said. He said their lack of knowledge feels more like neglect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the red-headed bastard stepchild here” on the East Side, Tagg said. “We\u2019ve always been the red-headed bastard stepchild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tagg said his meeting with Whartenby was his first with any school district official since taking over as president seven years ago.<\/p>\n
The district\u2019s plan to expand modular classrooms \u201cwas put together without any input\u201d from the Midway Manor Community Association, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were ignored, as usual,\u201d Tagg said.<\/p>\n
‘No shovels are in the ground yet’<\/p>\n
Several who spoke Monday night urged their neighbors to speak against the district\u2019s plans at Allentown School Board\u2019s meeting Feb. 26.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow up and \u2026 let them know how important this set is to this community.”<\/p>\n
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, to members of Midway Manor Community Association<\/p>\n
And Mayor Matt Tuerk noted that any major changes to the use of the property \u2014 which also has playgrounds, a basketball court and soccer fields \u2014 would have to be approved by city planning officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo shovels are in the ground yet, no checks have been cut yet, no decisions have been made yet,\u201d Tuerk said. <\/p>\n
He urged residents to attend the upcoming school board meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow up and \u2026 let them know how important this set is to this community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 Midway Manor residents fear their neighborhood will lose its identity if Allentown School District takes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,719,52798,52799,52800,52801,52802],"class_list":["post-110369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-allentown-school-district","tag-allentown-school-district-sonia-sotomayor-school-expansion","tag-allentowns-midway-manor-community","tag-midway-manor-community-allentown","tag-midway-manor-community-association-allentown","tag-sonia-sotomayor-dual-language-immersion-academy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}