RANKIN, Pa. — Neighbors hanging around their front porches in Rankin, Friday, said they noticed more groups of teenagers wandering the borough’s streets over the past couple of weeks.
There may be a reason for that: the Woodland Hills Impact Center, housed in the former Rankin Elementary School, is shut down.
Community members said it happened without warning.
“It started with some of the kids that were coming for after school, and the doors were locked,” Lee Davis said. “Then we had some kids sitting on the steps.”
The Center is funded by the Woodland Hills School District. When it opened three years ago, it was heralded as a way to give Rankin’s teenagers a healthy outlet, support families and help the community’s youth build life skills, in exchange for keeping the community safer.
Nearly half of Rankin’s children and teens live below the poverty line. One of the more popular programs was Learn to Earn, a job matching program for teens that provided families income.
It’s still not clear why the district allowed the funding to lapse, though a person connected to the Center said it was a financial oversight by district staff. In a meeting Wednesday, board members said funding for the Center was not included in their new budget.
After community members pushed for the funding, several board members said they supported keeping the Center open and would look to amend the budget to include the money.
“The people who rely on this center should not bear the consequences of inadequate long-term planning,” Rankin Mayor Joelisa McDonald wrote in an email. “If the district believes this model is no longer sustainable, then it has a responsibility to present the community with a thoughtful, transparent plan for what comes next, not simply allow another community asset to sit idle.”
Davis and others said they were confident the Center would be able to re-open by the beginning of the school year. District staff did not respond to a request for comment on the situation or confirm a timeline for the approval of funding.
“As a community, we want to know how we can help in any way, shape, form,” Davis said.
The Center’s director also did not directly address the situation when contacted for comment, but said he was confident in the school board.
“The Woodland Hills Impact Center is pivotal to the district,” Glenn Ford wrote. “A place where our community learns, grows and builds a stronger future together.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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