Schools

Anti-Airport Sentiment Takes Flight

Hatboro-Horsham School Board approved a resolution opposing runway use at the Willow Grove air base.

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board joined other local officials in opposing a future airport at by passing a resolution Monday night.

The board, which of the 1,100-acre base property to build a future school, followed Warminster and Montgomery townships in officially saying no to airport use at the property.

The military installment, which is scheduled to leave the base for good by Sept. 15, ceased its flying operations last month. 

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Horsham resident Dennis Mulligan, who heads a grassroots group of more than 500 residents committed to keeping the airstrip closed for good, urged the board to send letters to the Bucks and Montgomery county commissioners, as well as state and federal officials. Mulligan also asked the board to distribute information to parents concerning the purported dangers of an airport, particularly related to the proximity of several Hatboro-Horsham schools.

“It’s important as a town, if you believe in it, to send a strong message,” Mulligan said. “It should be up to us to decide 10 percent of the land mass of our town.” 

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mulligan, like other residents who have spoken out recently, takes issue with entities outside of Horsham trying to guide the base’s future redevelopment plans. The Bucks County Airport Authority, which operates three other airports, including airports in Doylestown and Quakertown, has made an to acquire more than 681 acres of the available 892 acres.

The Horsham Land Reuse Authority, the local group tasked with devising a redevelopment plan for the base, has not yet determined which, if any, of the would be incorporated in the plan and who could potentially receive the land. The HLRA has until year’s end to submit a redevelopment plan to the Department of Defense.

Superintendent Curtis Griffin, who sits on the HLRA board, said parents would be notified later this week about the approval of Monday night’s resolution. He said Assistant Superintendent Monica Taylor would send out the correspondence so as not to create a conflict. 

“I sit on the board, I have a responsibility to hear all the proposals,” Griffin said. “I’m not officially taking a stand.”

The board agreed to send letters to elected officials, as Mulligan had requested. 

Griffin encouraged residents to attend monthly HLRA meetings, the next of which is scheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the .

“I believe it will be up to the local land use authority,” Griffin said of the ultimate decision on how the base property is reused.

In other business, the board awarded a $67,00 bid to Atlantic Roofing for Crooked Billet Elementary School’s roof replacement project. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here