Sep 4, 2004 By Steve Ostrosky 4 min read

MAPLETOWN – Members of the Southeastern Greene School Board have voted to take on up to $8 million in debt service to pay for a proposed renovation to Mapletown Junior-Senior High School. The board, in a late meeting Thursday night, approved incurring up to $8 million, but directors stressed that no decisions have been made about the scope of work that could be done at the school.

The board will approve a more exact amount after meeting with the architect and the public about what work is top priority at the school, directors said.

Chris Brewer of bond counsel Thorp, Reed & Armstrong said that the bond issue will give the board the necessary approvals when it decides on a course of action for the school. He encouraged the board to take action Thursday night because the provisions of Act 72 took effect Friday.

Act 72 requires school districts that take any tax relief from slot machine revenue to put budgets out for voter approval if the district is proposing a tax increase greater than a predetermined index. Construction is an exception, but any debt incurred before Sept. 3 is not subject to the referendum requirement, Brewer said.

“This district is one of dozens that have been working up to the deadline,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tom Fox, president of Overburdened SEG Taxpayers, said that many of the current board members opposed the board’s decision last year to pursue an $18 million K-12 school, but the bond issue for discussion Thursday is, though somewhat smaller in cost, still burdensome to the taxpayers.

“We can’t afford any more spending,” he said. “I cannot go along with this, and I will put forth 110 percent to defeat this down the road, no matter where it leads us.”

He said that, with the board’s approval of the bond issue, he will work even harder than he did last year.

Last year, he organized a slate of write-in candidates opposed to the $18 million school proposal, and they claimed five seats on the school board in December.

Director Gary Yoskovich pointed to a mailing he received from state Rep. H. William DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) that touted the state’s gambling legislation as property tax relief. He said that the legislation doesn’t do enough and has done more for political gain rather than for the benefit of taxpayers.

“The pressure should be on in Harrisburg, because we can only do what we can,” he said.

He said the public will be involved in all parts of the project’s progress, especially in the early stages, as the board decides how much work needs to be done and how much work the district can afford.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do, but we know this building has problems,” Yoskovich said, referring to the existing junior-senior high school. “We have (Americans with Disabilities Act) issues, the electrical system should have been condemned, and it’s costing us $72,000 a year to heat this building.”

The board voted 8-0 to approve the debt service, with the stipulation that public meetings be held to keep the taxpayers informed about the project from beginning to end.

“These meetings are going to be important because it’s your future,” Yoskovich said. “If we can’t sell it, we won’t do it.”

Meanwhile, the board voted to appoint Dr. Thomas Howard to fill the vacant seat on the school board after the resignation of Jeff Duranko last week. Howard will serve until Nov. 30, 2005, and a two-year term will be on the ballot next year.

Howard and former school director Denny McIntire submitted interest in serving on the board. The directors briefly discussed tabling the matter to interview both men, but in the end voted 5-2-1 to appoint Howard.

Directors Denise Clark and Mary Jo Ullom voted no, while Leonard Novak abstained from voting.