Mar 14, 2007 By Angie Oravec 2 min read

Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Uniontown Area School Board are starting a petition campaign to request that the Fayette County Elections Bureau put a referendum question on the primary ballot in May on whether the public wants the board’s proposed high school building project to continue. The Rev. Peter Malik, a longstanding opponent to the board’s building project, said members need 496 signatures by Friday, but he is confident they will gain 2,000 names by the deadline.

School board candidate Tim Sandstrom will collect the petitions and give them to elections bureau officials, said Malik.

Malik presented the school board with the plan at a special meeting held Monday to authorize a referendum question on increasing the district’s earned income tax rate as an option under Act 1, or the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act.

The question is proposed as: “Do you favor the continuation of the Uniontown Area School District’s High School building project?” Citizens would vote “yes” or “no.”

“If the citizens vote ‘no,’ the high school project will end,” said Malik, after inviting each school board member to sign a petition. “This will free us from the architect and a new school board will start over, representing the citizens.

“This is going to be the voice of the people and the people at long last will be heard.”

Laurie Nicholson, elections bureau director, said the referendum question would have to be approved by the bureau. She also confirmed the citizens group will have to garner 495 signatures by Friday.

Nicholson said she has spoken to the elections bureau solicitor regarding the matter, but said she hasn’t seen the proposed referendum question, so it’s still up in the air whether it will be approved for the primary ballot.

Nicholson said she has seen a group of citizens succeed in getting a referendum question placed on the ballot before. It pertained to a liquor license.