Dorothy Orlichowski 

To be a member of the School Board one must be willing to devote their time and acquired skills and experience to provide the best environment for Radnor Township children to develop, gain the education skills needed to prepare them for their future roles in the new global economy and to appreciate the responsibilities and joys of being part of their community. I have been a member of the Radnor community for 24 years. Prior to moving here I had been a visitor since school years visiting friends and enjoying the many benefits of the community. I ran and am now running for the School Board to serve this community. I am retiring at the end of March 2001, after being employed 35 years at ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc. I have seen the company grow from the Philadelphia company, Pennsalt Manufacturing Company to global headquarters for ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc.. During those years I have been involved with budgeting, forecasting, marketing, technology , inventory control and training. Business changes have been dynamic and the skills which I have learned assist me in dealing with the very important issues facing the Radnor School District.

One of these important issues is the decision of what type of middle school will best suit the needs of our children today and in the foreseeable future and the location which will accommodate the middle school needed.

I have been quite open that I am very much in favor of maintaining the school at its current location. This is property that we own and it is a jewel in downtown Wayne. While the building itself has served us well in providing great education and developing generations of citizens who have contributed to our society locally and world wide, I reluctantly voted that it was not possible to renovate the existing facilities to accommodate today’s world of education and voted to build a new building. I also became part of the majority of the Board who voted to locate this new building on the present site. 

Since that vote there have been many negative opinions against using the school for education. Storm water has been made a major objection. However I feel that the school has worked around the water problems with no apparent dire effects on the children or the excellent education gained there and what problems now exist can be solved by creative and new technologies which may in fact prove ecologically more efficient and beneficial to the community at large. Our Township Commissioners have stated their assistance in coming up with such a solution.

Issues of fields, parking and zoning can be resolved with creativity and cooperation with our Township Commissioners. There has been concern mentioned about the possible size of the building. The board has obtained the services of George Metzger, a Boston architect who has built many buildings in urban areas on restricted sites. He will be presenting several suggested visions for a building on the Wayne site.

It has been noted that the school location would be an ideal site for a Township Community Center. We visited one of George Metzger’s designs in Chelsea MA which included areas used for education during the day and which is opened and used for Community use every night of the week. Some similar design could be built into a Middle School, if the will were there.

The School Administration Building may in fact need to be torn down for the new school. If this becomes a reality, space for the Administration could be part of the renovation which will be needed at Ithan in a few years. And yes this will add to the cost of the new Middle School but it will mean that we must look at greater efficiencies and revenue enhancements in the School Budget.

I have one very large concern about moving our children from the center of Wayne and that is that the message to the children would be that we would rather have them anywhere but in the midst of our community.

It is my sincere hope that the decision to go forward with building the new Middle School will be made soon so that other issues can be dealt with. Mandates and their cost to our taxpayers, vouchers, charter school, cyber schools effect on our future budgets, lowering debt service, new curricula to meet state and national standards, providing all the necessary tools for teachers , efficient use of technologies by both students and teachers, are only a few of the issues facing the this and future school boards.

I would be happy to listen, receive and respond to any comments regarding my feelings regarding the School Board and the