ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Midway Manor residents fear their neighborhood will lose its identity if Allentown School District takes over its main park.
District leaders plan to expand Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Immersion Academy in the neighborhood, David Tagg, president of the Midway Manor Community Association, told members at a meeting Monday night.
Tagg said he met last week with the district's Chief Operations Officer, Robert Whartonby, who informed him of plans to build 10 modular classrooms.
That would make room for the academy’s expansion to accommodate another grade level.
It now uses one modular classroom as it serves students in pre-K through second grade.
The district plans to add another grade each school year until the academy serves students through fifth grade.
The district also plans to demolish the association’s concession stand, Tagg said to gasps from many in the room at the Meals on Wheels headquarters on North Sherman Street.
Whartenby signaled the district is ready to move quickly, with hopes to have the modular classrooms in place by the start of the 2026-27 academic year, Tagg said.
'Ignored, as usual'
Alice Romberger, vice president of Midway Manor Community Association, on Monday night emphasized the organization supports the Sonia Sotomayor Academy and credited teachers and staff for doing “phenomenal” work.
Romberger said “it’s important” for students to have adequate classrooms and recognized the need for modular classrooms as the school expands.
But she urged district officials and planners to find a “different configuration” that would preserve the concession stand.
“We’re the red-headed bastard stepchild here [on the East Side]. We’ve always been the red-headed bastard stepchild.”David Tagg, president of the Midway Manor Community Association
“The snack shed is … the heart of Midway Manor,” Romberger said, because it helps fund its sporting programs, holiday celebrations and other community engagement efforts.
The loss of the concession stand would mean the “loss of our community identity, the loss of our income,” Tagg said.
The neighborhood organization has used the school district's property since the mid-1950s, according to Tagg.
District officials “have no idea what we do” at the concession stand, he said. He said their lack of knowledge feels more like neglect.
“We’re the red-headed bastard stepchild here" on the East Side, Tagg said. "We’ve always been the red-headed bastard stepchild.”
Tagg said his meeting with Whartenby was his first with any school district official since taking over as president seven years ago.
The district’s plan to expand modular classrooms “was put together without any input” from the Midway Manor Community Association, he said.
“We were ignored, as usual,” Tagg said.
'No shovels are in the ground yet'
Several who spoke Monday night urged their neighbors to speak against the district’s plans at Allentown School Board’s meeting Feb. 26.
“Show up and … let them know how important this set is to this community."Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, to members of Midway Manor Community Association
And Mayor Matt Tuerk noted that any major changes to the use of the property — which also has playgrounds, a basketball court and soccer fields — would have to be approved by city planning officials.
“No shovels are in the ground yet, no checks have been cut yet, no decisions have been made yet,” Tuerk said.
He urged residents to attend the upcoming school board meeting.
“Show up and … let them know how important this set is to this community,” he said.
