About 20 members of the public showed up at the Highland School Board meeting on Tuesday night for a joint public hearing on proposed $26 million school building improvements project that didn’t include athletic facilities.
Pop Warner President Mark Alvarado criticized the condition of the practice field and Juan Rios asked why the community has to wait for the repairs to happen. Rios suggested the reseeding efforts are less efficient than a turf surface.
“The kids want to be proud of the town they are playing for,” said Rios. “They have turf in Whiting, East Chicago and Munster. When is it all going to come to fruition?”
School Board President Patrick Krull said the board is not prepared to give a timeline on athletic facility upgrades. Krull said the project priorities were determined following a study by the Skillman Corp. The buildings and grounds were all studied and evaluated for priority consideration, he said. The athletic fields were studied, but determined to be lower on the priority list than the needs of the elementary, middle and high school buildings, the study said.
Those who spoke during the public hearing expressed frustration with the condition of the football field and the football practice field as well as the football helmets and pads worn by the players. The athletic facilities, however, will not be addressed within the scope of the five proposed projects.
The board passed five preliminary resolutions to allow the projects to go forward. The public has 30 days to remonstrate.
An estimated $9.9 million is earmarked for the high school and middle school improvements combined as one project under a single bond for a variety of renovations including new asphalt, all new windows, entrance doors and door frames, temperature controls, ventilator and wireless access points for students and teachers for one-to-one computing.
“I want to get the wiring done this summer and be in good shape for school in August,” said Superintendent Brian Smith, in a phone interview. He recognized the concerns of the football families as a former football coach and parent of kids involved in athletics.
“We are evaluating all of our facilities,” he said. “We need to do our due diligence before asking Highland to bond out for facilities. We did our homework on our study (for the bond proposal). When you can’t open windows or control your temperatures, you know those are things kids have to have to learn. Now lets look at what our sports facilities look like and what can we afford.”
More Top Picks Best Cat Trees For Multiple Cats
The high school project swings close to the $10 million cap for such projects and Krull said if the project goes over $10 million, it would require the school board to seek a referendum.
The Southridge Elementary School project is estimated at $5.2 million and Johnston at $4.1 million, Merkley at $3.5 million and Warren at $3.2 million. All will need upgrades including complete electrical rewiring at Southridge and Johnston. All will need wireless access points, flooring, plumbing, paint, fire alarm systems, unit ventilators and new temperature controls, officials said.
Curt Pletcher, a certified public accountant and partner with Umbaugh & Associates, said the total amount is estimated at $25.9 million financed over 20 years.
Separately, the board approved the 2015-16 school budget of $29.8 million including $20.1 million for the general fund, $1.5 million for the debt service fund, $4 million for the exempt debt fund, $2.4 million for the capital projects fund, $1.4 million for the school transportation fund and $239,800 for the bus replacement fund. The adopted tax rate is about 10 cents per $100,000 of assessed valuation, officials said.
Earlier this year the board approved a $2 million general obligation bond to cover the replacement of the high school boilers, middle school hot water heater along with other small capital projects.
Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.