Last Thursday, the Quakertown Community School District Board of Directors approved an agreement of sale between the district and Faith Christian Academy for acquisition of two vacated district buildings. The $2 million agreement will transfer ownership of Tohickon Valley Elementary and Milford Middle School to the K-12 Christian School.

            The fate of both buildings has been considered since the district closed Milford Middle School in 2017 and Tohickon Valley Elementary this year. Thursday night's vote came after several discussions about whether selling the buildings now would have any future financial impact on the district, particularly if a charter school would eventually occupy one or both.

            According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website, independent public schools that operate under a charter in Pennsylvania can be cyber charter schools or occupy physical locations.

            While selling the buildings to the private Christian school does not guarantee a charter school will not purchase either in the future, several directors expressed optimism over the sale.

            "I don't know that anybody else is going to want to buy two empty, vacant schools," Director Keith Micucci commented.

            "I couldn't wish for a nicer bunch of people coming into our district and helping make it better," Director Jonathan Kern added.

            The agreement of sale includes an option for the district to lease Tohickon Valley Elementary School for one year if necessary while renovations continue on Neidig Elementary.

            Tohickon Valley Elementary is located on Old Bethlehem Pike, north of Route 663. The Milford Middle School building is located on Allentown Road, also north of 663.

            Faith Christian Academy currently has one campus on Main Street in Sellersville, offering academic programs, athletics and fine arts for kindergarten through 12^th grade. The school also operates Noah's Ark Preschool and Daycare on Ridge Road in Sellersville. With the acquisition of these two buildings, the school will be able to offer a K-12 education in the Quakertown area.

Currently, over 500 students are enrolled in FCA's program and over 250 in the preschool.

            Faith Christian Academy CFO Henry Thompson credits the enrollment growth with the expansion plans. According to Thompson, the school hopes to open both campuses to classes as early as the 2020 school year.

            "With this location, we will be able to better impact the lives and future careers of all of our students." said Ryan Clymer, Headmaster. "The exciting acquisition of these properties will allow FCA to expand our offerings in a variety of fields and help a new generation of FCA graduates obtain the skills they need to fulfill their college and career goals."