By Gail Peckler-Dziki~Correspondent
Westosha Central High School Board member Steven Richter called filling in the All Purpose room the “bone-of-contention” in the project developed mainly to improve energy use and general operations.
There were about 15 Central district residents at the Feb. 4 public forum regarding the project. It was plain that the majority of the project fit state guidelines for energy and operational savings, the all-purpose room seemed completely cosmetic. Nexus representatives and school officials all agreed that it was.
The plan calls for the floor of the all-purpose room to be raised up and level with the doors and adding a new ceiling. Right now, the main floor of he al-purpose room is reached by descending stairs or ramps, with part of the room raised above the main floor.
Mia Swatkowski, mother of a cheerleader, questioned the changes to the room.
“My daughter is a cheerleader and they practice in here,” she said. “If you raise the floors and lower the ceiling, they can’t practice their routines in here. There won’t be enough room for the jumps.”
District administrator Dr. Scott Pierce said that he wasn’t aware that the cheerleaders used the room for practice. It was mentioned that the all-purpose room was used often for large groups like class meetings or gatherings of groups from the grade schools. Often there was not enough room on the main floor for all who attend these meetings, leaving some at the edges of the room on the raised portions.
The cost for the all-purpose room changes is $78,000 and it does not qualify for the revenue limit exemption, as does much of the project.
Others were concerned about the $6.4 million price tag. Mike David, Nexus representative, admitted that the interest would add $3 million to the project cost over 20 years. He pointed out that right now it was cheaper to borrow money at under 3.9 percent to replace than to continue to repair every year when construction costs go up on average of 5 percent annually.
“You could keep on a pay as you go construction plan, but then construction inflation is higher than the interest rates and in the long run, you’ll spend more money,” David said.
He also pointed out that of all the high schools in the general region, Central has the third lowest cost per pupil.
Resident Chris Skrznecki started out asking some pointed questions but summer up by saying, “This board has been here a long time. We re-elect them because they do a good job. They have done a good job of holding the line on taxes. They have worked on this a long time and I think we can trust them. I support this project.”
In a later interview, district resident Dustin Beth said that while the project sounded good, he had questions about how much the project would raise property taxes. “The last time the board promised a project would have no real affect on taxes, the taxes went up.”
The project information details and the total estimated cost are on the school website. The project financing would add $12 to the property tax bill of a home assessed at $100,000. The loan would be for 20 years and the district believes that an estimated $50,000 in annual savings would help pay that loan and future phases.
After the forum, the board unanimously voted in favor of the project. Residents could bring the measure to a referendum.