After two years of contention between Morrisville school board members who were on opposite sides concerning a proposed $30 million consolidated school, the matter might be settled at tonight's meeting.
The new school would replace the existing high school/middle school and the two elementary schools.
The tug of war escalated in September when the school board majority filed an appeal in county court of a borough council decision rejecting preliminary development plans for the pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade school. Several school board members at the time said it was necessary to replace the three ailing school buildings and millions already spent in lawyer and engineering fees in planning for the new school.
“There will be a motion tomorrow to stop the appeal,” said William Hellmann, the new school board president, when contacted on Tuesday.
All four of the board's new members, as well as some existing board members, have spoken out against the new school project. They say it has become too expensive and has been poorly handled by former school board members.
“It's been 25 months since November of 2005 when the plan was rammed down our throats,” said new board member Marlys Mihok on Tuesday. “[The appeal] will be stopped tomorrow night and I anticipate that it will pass, that the board majority will stop it.”
When the plan was first proposed, most of the board members were proponents of building a new school. However, several community members such as Mihok felt that board members ignored the wishes of taxpayers.
The proposed new school would create a tax increase of more than $646 annually. This amount is based on the median assessed property value of $18,000, district business manager Reba Dunford said in May.
New school opponents — Hellmann, Mihok, Robin Reithmeyer and William Farrell — won in the Nov. 6 general election, altering the board's balance of power from a majority who supported the school project to one who didn't.
Mihok said the agenda also includes a motion to look for a law firm the district would hire “on a contingency basis, to see what we can do about money we've given to the architect and engineer.”
At 9 a.m. Jan. 12, the school board plans to hold a walk-through of all three schools to look at structural and mechanical problems in hopes of coming up with a cheaper alternative.
“It will be open to heating and [air conditioning] people, plumbers, electricians or anyone with an interest in helping us with the buildings,” said Mihok. It will also be open to the public.
Arrangements for where to meet for the walk-through are forthcoming, she added.
One of the first things you learn as a lawyer is to NEVER ask a witness in open court a question that you do not already know the answer to. (I'm a proud graduate of Perry Mason University and the Matlock School of Law.) And the NSNs want us to walk through the buildings and see what's going on? Why would they campaign on a platform of STOP THE SCHOOL and then a week after taking office, walk through the areas, inviting people to come out and see the conditions for themselves? Unless our miracle-trained custodial staff found some sort of magic wand stuffed in an abandoned locker and have drained the magic out of it busily repairing past neglect, I predict a rude awakening.This is an open plea to everyone: If you didn't support the new school, come and see for yourself where our kids learn. If you did support the new school, come and see what's changed.
4 comments:
I believe the NSN's are grads of the F.Yoo Bailey School of Law. The one that tells them that the schools are just fine the way they are, more or less (probably less). Prediction: there will be no awakening, just comments from self-proclaimed NSN experts that things are fine (or not unsafe) and that only superficial repairs are necessary.
STS, You are absolutely right about asking the question that you don't already know the answer to.
Also known as "Be careful what you wish for..."
Two possible scenarios: 1. the NSN's will get wind of how many people will actually be joining them on this tour. They will suddenly be alarmed. Then they will cancel the tour (and make it for some other, less convenient day/time when people will be less likely to show up). Or 2. make the proclamation that 'We can't provide for hundreds of people all at once (and then have a "select" few take the tour).
Another possibility is seeding very vocal people into the crowd, people who will make comments such as "Oh, that lighting isn't so bad", "heating oil smell? I can't smell any heating oil", and "I think it's great that this gymnasium floor is carpeted. It's a safety FEATURE, not at all trying to hide the problems with the underlying floor".
Maybe if parents who took the tour on Saturday were just as negatively vocal... aw nevermind, the board will have blinders on and be wearing ear plugs.
The walk-thru will be at 9 a.m. January 12th. Don't go this Saturday because no one will be there. It will be very interesting to see how many people say, "it's not that bad," and "that's a maintenance issue" why your lying eyes tell you that what you're looking at is fifty years old, falling apart and needs to be replaced. Universally. Unfortunately, not even local handymen will be able to see the major problems. As Tim Lastichen said at last night's board meeting, he'd have to break down the electrical control boxes so you can see the ancient wiring throughout. What we're dealing with is the vast majority of major systems that are well past the point where they need to be replaced and fixing them is counterproductive. And you won't be able to see that because it's underground, inside the walls and in the ceilings.
Let's not forget the energy savings of new, efficient HVAC systems. This was the largest cost savings component of the new K-12 campus when oil was $50-70 per barrel, and within several years the savings would have outpaced the financing costs.
Now oil's hanging close to $100/barrel. I'd like to see how much higher the energy cost savings are at these oil prices.
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