Investing in Pottstown For more than a century, The Hill this town?’, ‘Can I see myself raising School has been among the most pres- children in this town?’, ‘Is this a safe tigious college preparatory schools in town to live in?’ … ‘Are the schools the nation. here in town good?’ ” Many faculty The Hill is a member of the Ten members, the white paper states, Schools Admissions Organization, describe the town as “bearable, but which includes some of the most ven- not something people are proud of, erable names in edu- although they want to be.” cation: In a competitive mar- ketplace, “the School , Wallingford, CT routinely loses a , Deerfield, MA number of bright, The Hill School, Pottstown, PA highly sought-after The , Lakeville, CT faculty candidates , Lawrenceville, NJ because these pro- Loomis Chaffee, Windsor, CT spective em- Andover, Andover, MA Commentary by ployees do not , Exeter, NH see Pottstown St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH Tom Hylton as a desirable, , Watertown, CT safe place to live,” the white paper states. But The Hill School has a signifi- In previous columns this week, we cant handicap in comparison to its discussed The Hill School’s tax- peers. Every other school is located in exempt status, sparing the school an idyllic village, or in the woods, or in from more than $2.2 million annual- the countryside. ly in real estate taxes. We discussed The Hill School, by contrast, is its significant resources. cheek by jowl with a gritty low and We discussed its “Strength of All” moderate income neighborhood in an campaign, which aims to raise $175 older industrial town. million by June 30, 2019, to boost According to a Hill white paper, “an scholarships, increase faculty com- annual survey of admitted students pensation, and improve campus fa- who choose not to enroll consist- cilities. Just three percent of the ently cites Pottstown as the top money to be raised would go for the reason for their decision to go else- improvement of Pottstown, specifical- where. [Boldface in the original.] ly aimed at a small area surrounding “The students and their families the school called Hobart’s Run. point to the town’s overall appearance Considering the major concerns and perceived status quo as well as raised in The Hill School’s white pa- their concerns about Pottstown crime per, a reasonable person might ask and student safety. Clearly, The Hill why the school is not dedicating is losing qualified, talented stu- more of its resources — perhaps dents to other schools as a result of $500,000 to $1 million annually — our location in Pottstown.” to the revitalization of Pottstown. The white paper states that It’s not just a matter of enlight- “prospective faculty members often ened self-interest, although that is ask questions including: ‘Can I live in obviously important. It’s also a state- ment of the school’s values. The Hill School wants its stu- dents to “serve the common good.” It should lead by example.

Tom Hylton is a member of the Potts- town School Board. However, the views expressed are his alone and not the HILL SCHOOL from High Street in the spring. board’s.