Monday Update - Moving Forward

[State High Vision]

Monday Update

May 21, 2007

 

What a week!  With the landslide victory of challengers over the school board incumbents in last week’s primary election, the residents of the State College Area School District voted a resounding NO to the high school renovation project.  Thanks to all of you who participated in the democratic process and who cast your ballot last Tuesday.  Our community stood together, shoulder to shoulder, against this ill conceived plan.

 

What happens now?

 

The SCASD school board is meeting TONIGHT at 7:30 at the Mt. Nittany Middle School Library for a regular board meeting.  Unfortunately, this meeting WILL NOT be televised live on CNET.  On the agenda is “Action on the High School Project.”  

 

PLEASE TRY to attend this meeting to reinforce our position on the plan as it stands right now.

 

The board has TWO options before them at this point.  These include:

 

1).      Go forward with the plan, despite the overwhelming community opposition and the $18 million over budget bid estimates.  Without drastic cuts in the program and/or rebidding, this $18 million excess will trigger a public referendum and likely a second ACT 34 hearing.  This seems like an incredible waste of time and energy, given last Tuesday’s vote against the incumbents.  If the board chooses this option, SHV will examine all options available to us to stop the project.

 

2)       Scrap the plan and put a hold on the high school renovation.  This would allow for the board to work with the incoming board members to establish a plan of action to conduct research, engage the public, examine models that other communities have used and to implement a trade off analysis of options.  An update of the district wide master plan, required by the PDE and missing in the incumbent board decision making process, with assistance from independent reviewers would help to identify goals and priorities for our district.  The high school upgrades may not be viewed as a priority in comparison to elementary projects.   The bottom line?   We won’t know until we study it.      

 

It is important to note that if the board scraps the current plan, all is not lost.  Critics of SHV have tried to say that it’s too late or that we would lose all of the money spent thus far on design fees and the limited needs assessment that was conducted.  NOT TRUE!  A hybrid compilation of the materials that the board had collected prior to their decision to throw out the 2 building renovation, put in proper order (using the geo-technical report first, looking at traffic etc.) with ADDITIONAL information (i.e. teacher survey, community focus groups, a community survey) would not be a total loss of the money. Money already spent might save us from embarking on a $130 million mistake.

 

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.  John F. Kennedy

 

If you have election materials (i.e. yard signs) in your yards or see them around, please remove them ASAP.  They can be returned to Rick Madore’s office (110 Radnor Drive) around the back.  Rick said they can be placed there outside and someone will take them in.