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.
