Opponent to renovation asks board to rethink project
The Rev. Peter Malik, an opponent of the Uniontown High School renovation and construction project attempted to convince the Uniontown Area School Board Monday evening to rethink embarking on the project, and may have succeeded in doing so, at least part way. Malik has been the lead motivator for a group of residents, who have attended board meetings for several consecutive months, urging school directors to reconsider tearing down the old section of the school and to vote to scale back the project.
On Monday, the school board decided to look into the legal ramifications in keeping the 1910-11 section and agreed to further hear about the new proposal to the make the old section a freestanding structure at a May 25 meeting.
A motion to keep the project cost at $30 million or under and to use the money leftover to renovate other schools failed by the same split vote that has plagued the project from the start.
Malik said a lot has happened since the project was approved a special buildings and grounds meeting were no discussion about tearing down the old structure or constructing a new gymnasium took place.
“You have heard the voices of the people, and once the borrowing reaches your debt ceiling, there will be no borrowing for Ben Franklin or Lafayette,” said Malik. “I hope you will change your minds.”
Malik likened the district’s choice of a new high school building to selecting a Rolls Royce for a vehicle.
“We cannot afford this… high school,” he said to a hearty round of applause from the majority of the near 100 community residents in the audience.
Franklin Township resident Ralph Mazza expressed to the board once again that a good education does not necessitate a fancy building.
“The thing that bothers me the most with this is it’s an example of the tail wagging the dog where one person tells you what is going to be done,” said Mazza. “I can’t understand why we’re going to tear down a perfectly good building. I hope someone on the board will change their mind, so we don’t have to go forward with this fiasco.”
Because the failed 5-4 motion made by Meadows and seconded by school Director William Rittenhouse Jr. Monday showed the idea of scaling back the project has not gained enough support from a majority of school directors, despite a number of residents consistently asking that the board rethink the extensive project.
Jerrie Mazza told the board she has been coming to the meetings for 10 months and every time has asked the board to reconsider constructing the proposed high school building.
Mazza pleaded with the board to remember the elderly living on fixed incomes, the under-employed and the people who are jobless who can’t afford to pay for a “Taj Mahal” building like the one proposed.
“We have a great building that needs renovated,” she said, adding that she would like to see the classroom tower built and sections of the building renovated, but doesn’t want to pay (through taxes) for a renovated gym or food court.
“So, please, don’t vote to build this building,” Mazza said, also asking the board to waive a $170 fee charged to the citizens so they could use the cafeteria for a public forum last week.
Superintendent Charles Machesky said the fee is charged to every organization using a school facility. “No one is being singled out. It is board policy,” Machesky said, with Ron Machesky adding that the senior class has to pay to use the auditorium for the grand march, which is part of prom.
Shawn McAninch said he doesn’t think the school district can support a huge debt and it would be a burden on everyone.
“It’s not very practical,” McAninch said. ” I’m asking you to reconsider the project and consider the people that elected you. It’s not in their best interest.”
Tim Sandstrom of Uniontown presented board members with an article from an area newspaper that stated funding is available to renovate old school buildings.
Uniontown Attorney Herbert Margolis spoke to school Directors Susan Clay and Nancy Herring, who he said he has tremendous respect for, and told them he simply cannot understand why they are for this project.
“Only Herring and Clay have a chance to go the other way,” Margolis said.
Uniontown resident Margaret Ruben said she has paid school taxes for years and helps support the school still at the age of 90 even though she never had children.
“I’m afraid to wake up when the new school (tax) bill comes in,” she said. “It was an increase last year. I can’t get a part-time job. How am I going to pay for it? The few dollars I do have is for my old age.”
Mary Ellen Snyder of Farmington said the approaching National Pike Days, a time when hundreds of people converge to celebrate the area’s cultural heritage and visit its attractions, signifies the importance of retaining historical structures, such as the school’s 1910-11 section located along the National Road.
“If everything looked liked Wal-Mart, do you think there’d be a wagon train?” she asked. “I’m just asking you to think long-term. You don’t want to be the school board that votes to tear down our history. I hope not.”
Dee Strong of Franklin Township supports the project.
She told the school board that they will be making a landmark decision on whether or not to go-ahead with the project. She encouraged the board to move ahead, noting the future of the state depends on the quality of education.
“We have to advance to improve the quality of their education. Students are our future. Not every decision should be based on the value of a dollar. This project makes sense,” said Strong.