By Katy Yeiser, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Center Grove's $142.3 million building project is temporarily dead.
The five-member school board unanimously approved delaying the project indefinitely because of a declining economy.
With the change of course, the public vote set for the project in May is off the calendar.
Superintendent Steven Stephanoff recommended postponing the project after speaking with community groups and residents about the timing of the project and fearing the economy would lead taxpayers to vote the projects down.
The curriculum overhaul will proceed while school officials and the school board decide how to create a modified project that the community would support in a tanking economy.
Stephanoff wants a new committee to be appointed to cut costs by determining needs versus wants. He will leave those decisions to the committee, he said.
The decision halts campaigning for and against the project. Since the project was approved in December, Stephanoff had promised a public relations blitz to inform and sell the community on the project, and two political action committees were formed, one to stop the projects and one, supported by Stephanoff, to move the projects forward.
Board members hope the change in direction will bring together a community they thought was divided over the projects.
Stephanoff decided on his own to ask the board to delay the project, board member John Steed said. Board members commended him on the recommendation.
Because of job losses nationwide and the credit crisis, the school district has the responsibility to hold off on the projects to open a new 750-student elementary school and renovate Center Grove Elementary School for $30.8 million, renovate and construct extracurricular and athletic facilities for $27.3 million and renovate the high school for $84.2 million, Stephanoff said.
Stephanoff was concerned the economy would hurt the chances of the public approving the projects, he said.
Since the board approved the projects in December, the economy has continued to deteriorate, Stephanoff said.
"Each month the economy got worse. Each week the economy got worse," he said.
Stephanoff's concerns that the economy would derail the projects were confirmed through a phone survey conducted by a group trying to gather support for the projects.
The survey found that most residents in the Center Grove area were concerned about the economy when they were questioned about the school building project, chairman David Shull said.
His group now agrees with Stephanoff: Now isn't the right time to spend $142.3 million, he said.
"Dr. Stephanoff was given the results of the survey and considered it," Shull said. "It was a mixed bag in terms of responses. But an overriding response was a concern for the current economy and, of course, one our opponents were very concerned about."
The political action committee formed to stop the projects, Students and Community United, released a statement of support for Stephanoff's decision. Group members have said that they thought the school district could have created a more responsible building project.
"Students and Community United appreciates that Superintendent Stephanoff has come to recognize issues and concerns that were a focus of our group for many months. Our group is made of concerned parents along with taxpayers in the community," the statement said.
"We agree and support the superintendent's call for a new community task force and look forward to becoming an active participant. We believe that if we work together towards a common goal of providing our students with a well-thought-out and financially responsible plan we can accomplish great things."
School officials will tell the county election board to take the three questions for the project off a referendum ballot set for May 19.
No timeline has been set for when to start the projects back up again.
Architects haven't been working on the projects since February under board orders.
School board members and administrators now will decide how to form a committee, possibly of community members representing different views of the project, administrators and board members, to evaluate, prioritize and publicize the modified project, Stephanoff said.
The board rejected creating the committee Monday night 2-3, so members could have more time to determine the goals and makeup of the committee.
Taking a step back on the projects will give the community time to mend its division over the projects, school board president Jim Copp said.
"(This is) a visionary solution that I hope will bring the community more in alignment of what is needed in the school system as opposed to more divisiveness," he said.
The division among the community over the projects put the projects at risk of being denied at the voting booth, board members said.
"I thought, as the process moved forward, it was apparent it lacked a momentum and it was dividing the community as opposed to uniting the community," board member Scott Gudeman said.
Stephanoff hopes a committee can define what is needed in the projects to cut costs to keep the tax rate level. Taxpayers still will pay for the projects, but cutting the overall costs could keep the tax rate level with new debt replacing debt that is paid off.
"Many of our community members believe that completing the project will be beneficial to our school district, however, they were very concerned about the timing. Even though there was strong support for the projects, genuine concern also exists among taxpayers regarding our local and international economy," Stephanoff said in a statement.
"Today, some of our neighbors have been impacted by the recession, and Americans are wondering when the economy is going to begin to recover. So, I think we must consider the question: Is this the right time to complete a major school construction project that will, although temporarily, raise taxes?" Stephanoff said.
"After careful consideration of the economic climate and various groups and individuals in the community, I believe that it is our responsibility to be responsive to the community. Therefore, it is my recommendation that the proposed construction projects be delayed."
School officials, teachers, staff and community members have been studying how to renovate the high school for five years.
The $142.3 million plans began to take shape in October, when features were added to the building plans, including a 50-meter natatorium and soccer field turf.
"There were very much needed things (in the projects) and things that we wanted just to make what we have better, so there is a distinction between the two," Stephanoff said.
For example, the high school needs renovation to relieve congestion in the hallways and cafeteria, Stephanoff said. But a "want" for the project is putting turf on the soccer field, so more teams and students could use it more often instead of saving it for soccer season only, he said.
Many people see the turf as a luxury, but the school district would benefit from its more durable field, he said.
The school district should try to balance spending in a poor economy while trying to take advantage of a friendly, buyer's market for construction, Stephanoff said.
"We would like to take advantage of the economic climate because now is the time to build things at low rate. But on the other hand, you also look at the other side of the economic climate and how people will view that," Stephanoff said.
The delay of the projects will give the community time to evaluate the necessity of some pieces of the projects, Steed said. He opposes shutting down West Grove and North Grove elementary schools.
"The economy made it easier to realize it probably wasn't going to make it (in a referendum). But my attitude is to come up with the most cost-effective way to do what we need to do," Steed said.
The board doesn't want to lose long held community support for the projects, he said.
"The community was getting divided. You really want something that the community can get behind that says, 'This makes sense,'" Steed said.
"This is a very supportive community as far as construction and buildings. There might have been some sins in the past they're nailing us on now. But for the most part, this community supports education very strongly, and we don't want to lose that," he said.