The Parkland School District board voted unanimously Oct. 20 to formally oppose the proposed Atlas data center near Parkland High School, saying the district has a responsibility to speak out against a project board members believe could negatively affect students, staff and the educational environment.<\/p>\n
The board approved a resolution placing the district on record against the proposal and authorizing district administrators and legal counsel to advocate on the district\u2019s behalf as the project moves through the municipal review process.<\/p>\n
The action follows months of discussion by school board members, township officials and residents regarding the proposed data center, which would be located near the high school campus. The project has generated significant public interest and has drawn residents to both school board and township meetings to voice concerns.<\/p>\n
Vice President Chris Pirrotta said the district could not sacrifice educational quality, even if the project were ultimately to provide additional tax revenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe budget exists to support education, and we would not sacrifice the quality of this education to support the budget,\u201d Pirrotta said.<\/p>\n
Pirrotta said district officials have a responsibility to speak on issues that could affect students and schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we don\u2019t have the authority over what gets built across the street, I do believe it\u2019s our responsibility to speak up when we believe something could negatively impact our schools,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Board President David J. Hein said directors spent months gathering information from residents, township officials, district administrators and subject-matter experts before reaching their decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe location of the proposed data center is definitely not ideal,\u201d Hein said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the project could provide financial benefits to local taxing bodies in future years but said the district\u2019s mission extends beyond financial considerations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must maintain the integrity of our school district, of the learning environment, of the safety and security of our students and our staff, as well as being good neighbors,\u201d Hein said.<\/p>\n
Hein said the school board understands it does not have final authority over the project but believes its concerns should be formally included in the public record.<\/p>\n
Board member Carol Facchiano also praised residents who attended meetings and shared information about the proposal during the past several months.<\/p>\n
Facchiano said one resident\u2019s observation helped crystallize the issue for her. \u201cIf our high school wasn\u2019t there right now, but the data center was, would we be building a new high school across the street from a data center?\u201d Facchiano said. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the district\u2019s primary responsibility is ensuring the safety of students, staff and visitors who use school facilities every day.<\/p>\n
Board member Alyssa Beckwith credited residents for helping board members better understand the proposal and its potential impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for your continued passion and commitment for voicing your concern and commitment to our student safety,\u201d Beckwith said.<\/p>\n
Beckwith said information brought forward by residents helped board members ask questions, conduct additional research and consider both potential risks and benefits before making a decision.<\/p>\n
Board member Jay Rohatgi, who was unable to attend because of previously scheduled travel, submitted a statement that was read into the record.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy opposition is rooted in concerns about the health, safety and well-being of our students, which must always remain our highest priority,\u201d Rohatgi wrote.<\/p>\n
The resolution states the district\u2019s position should not be interpreted as opposition to data centers, technology infrastructure or economic development in general. Rather, board members contend the proposed location near the high school raises concerns significant enough to warrant formal opposition.<\/p>\n
Following the unanimous vote, audience members responded with a standing ovation.<\/p>\n
The proposal remains subject to review through the township land-development process. While the school board\u2019s action formally states the district\u2019s position, the ultimate decision on approvals rests with township officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Parkland School District board voted unanimously Oct. 20 to formally oppose the proposed Atlas data center near…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-312770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312770","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=312770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}