Mongell firm against building plan
CONNELLSVILLE – The securing of a bond to facilitate the Connellsville Area School District latest construction project will not have the support of one of its board members. Director Francis Mongell said Wednesday he would continue to be steadfast in his voting record and decline to lend support to the multimillion-dollar construction of the new Springfield Township Elementary School.
“No, I won’t vote for the bond issue,” he said. “This is not the right way to go about this project.”
According to William Harper, district business manager, the board will be asked to approve the acquisition of a $9.9 million bond to help pay for a portion of the initial construction costs and the purchase and installation of air conditioning systems at various elementary schools when the panel meets in April.
Mongell, along with board members Karen Blocker, Jeffrey Harvey and Loretta Lint, has favored the construction of one facility to house all students in the district’s mountain region now attending both Springfield and C.N. Pritts and have voted no to all associated construction-related matters over the past two years. The one-school plan, said Mongell, would be less costly to the district and the taxpayers and more beneficial to the overall education of the 700 students now attending the two schools.
The pay back of the bond issue, according to Mongell, may translate into a 4.4-mill tax increase for property owners.
“That’s why some of us, we’re trying to get more bang for our buck by getting those kids into one school,” he said. “There still would be a tax increase, but it would have been closer to the three-mill rate, rather that at 4.4 and if we would have sold the two properties, it would have been less.”
The district financial responsibility would be lessened because the state would provide additional reimbursement for the increased student population, Mongell added.
“Now we’re facing a 4.4-mill increase and we still haven’t done anything with C.N. Pritts,” he said.
Earlier this week, the board by a 5-4 margin awarded $8.3 million in contracts to various construction-related firms for the new building and $2.1 million in contracts for the installation of air conditioning systems at three other elementary schools. The board tabled awarding a food service contract for the new site, although architect Ryan M. Pierce recommended a bid of $183,890 be accepted for the supply of kitchen equipment from Commercial Appliance.
A lower bid of $183,504 from H-MAK was rejected because it did not include necessary documentation for consideration by the board.
Harper, meanwhile, said the $1.5 million-plus shortfall for the 2003 construction projects would be addressed with next year’s district spending plan that could additionally include funds for renovations at other facilities.
A feasibility study to assess the high school, vocational technical school, administration building and the six remaining elementary schools that have not undergone renovations, is expected to be completed within the next few months for the board to review.
Harper declined to speculate as to what, if any, tax increase would be considered by the board.
“With the (county) reassessment, the governor’s budget, and all tolled, I’m not sure what is going to happen,” he said. “We may not know until August what we can expect from the state and part of the governor’s proposal is to reduce property taxes.
“If they want us to reduce taxes, how are we going to raise taxes? We’re playing a three-dimensional chess game right now.”
The district realizes approximately $9 million in local real estate taxes, which translates into about 18 percent of its annual budget.
Harper said the proposed state budget does in some cases indicate more funding for the district, but it is unknown until its passage whether it will be enough to fulfill the void if the district is forced to cut taxes.
“It’s going to be a very long and hot summer,” said Harper.