North Hills Flashback: The Rejected $2,000,000 Proposal

The end of August, for most children, typically means a return to school. While some students are on alternative schedules, many parents sent their children off to school for the first time this academic year this week and others will do exactly that next week.

For historians, it means looking back at interesting moments in the history of local education. As one-room schoolhouses morphed into the schools of today, buildings have come and gone. Sometimes, a school just so happens to escape the threat of closure, often the result of the “SOS” groups (save our schools) which tend to pop up and often are successful in preventing a building from closing. Sometimes, this even comes with backers who aren’t as interested in the school as they are preventing the alternative.

In the early 1980s, North Hills School District was faced with budget deficits. Several buildings were destined for decommissioning in an effort to streamline the schools and save on operating costs. With debts totaling close to $2,000,000, any alleviation of debts seemed like a good idea.

At the same time, Frank Nascone’s Ross Park Mall project was delayed. While some work had been done on the site and several tenants had committed by 1982, there were plenty of other issues at stake. Among them was a proposal to build an access road from Thompson Run Road, something Nascone had desperately wanted but local residents did not.

Looking for some way to get his road built, he offered a tremendous proposal to North Hills School District. For $2,000,000, he would buy McIntyre Elementary, which would not only cover the deficit, but would leave the school district with a surplus.

Despite this deal looking like a win for North Hills on paper, opposition was strong. Many locals were already skeptical of Nascone and his plans. Most individuals around the McIntyre corridor did not want the road built; the same was true of residents of the Kinvara and White Oak plans. Of course, the “SOS” groups came out in full force, extolling the virtues of a small community elementary school as a cornerstone of a residential community.

Ultimately, the proposal was rejected. Despite the generous offer, community opposition prevented the district from voting to sell the school. North Hills did close several schools in 1983, including Berkley Hills Elementary on the other end of Thompson Run. McIntyre Elementary, of course, remains in the North Hills School District to this day, having been expanded and renovated in the 36 years since Nascone’s rejected offer.

Nascone, who later came under fire in the midst of a bribery scandal, sold his Ross Park project in 1984 to Simon Property Group, who developed the mall, opened it two years later, and continue to keep it a top tier mall today.

The access road, which remained a subject of controversy, was never built, keeping McIntyre Road a safe, family-friendly neighborhood and school zone where young minds continue to grow.

Here’s to a great school year!! As always, feel free to comment, especially if you remember this proposal or simply are glad McIntyre Elementary remained a school and was never turned into a traffic nightmare!