The Lower Merion School District (“LMSD”) has scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 7:00 PM in the Lower Merion High School Auditorium to present its plans for the financing and construction of a completely new Lower Merion High School. The hearing is required by the PA Department of Education (“PDE”) under Pennsylvania Act 34 (the “Taj Mahal Act”) which was enacted to give voters the power to approve or disapprove expensive school construction projects via referendum.
The good news for Lower Merion residents is that the proposed New Harriton High School, at $102,933,000, or $82,346 per student, is no longer the most expensive new high school project in state history. The bad news is that this distinction is now held by the proposed New Lower Merion High School, at $109,966,819, or $87,973 per student. The District is also spending at least $32 million to relocate the operations department and to renovate the District Administration Offices. When it comes to spending money, Lower Merion School District truly is number one in the State, if not the country.
While the Board has downplayed the hearing and scheduled it at the peak of the summer vacation season, it is nonetheless important that concerned citizens attend for the following reasons.
First, this is the only opportunity they will have to express an opinion on the project. The Board and Administration have gone out of their way to design the schools, manipulate the costs and overtax the community in order to stockpile $27.1 million to avoid a public referendum under either Act 1 or Act 34.
Second, the cost of the District’s high school “renovation” program continues to escalate unabated. Originally slated to cost $150 million, the District has now approved spending that will total at least $244.9 million, and that is before a shovel has even been put in the ground. The Board broke its promise on New Harriton by voting to exceed its own not-to-exceed budget, and there is every indication they would do the same for Lower Merion.
Third, the District continues to ignore reasonable and practical alternatives to demolishing both schools and replacing them with brand new monuments. They have even ignored a study released by PDE that encourages the re-use of existing structures because, in addition to the “green” benefits of re-using existing buildings, the average cost per square foot of new schools is nearly twice the cost of renovations and additions. Fourth, the District has shunned fiscal responsibility and fiscal transparency in order to accomplish their ill-conceived plan for two brand new schools. For example, the Board continues to ignore legitimate requests for information and never even made available a complete 2007-08 budget package for public review. Perhaps they were afraid it would reveal how a District that was strapped for cash when the 2006-07 budget was approved is suddenly sitting on a surplus of $27.1 million that will be diverted to the construction of new schools solely to avoid a referendum. Under this Board and Administration, the annual cost per student has soared to $25,346, and the cost of the high school renovation program is already $94.9 million (63.3%) over budget. Voters who are bothered by this must attend the Act 34 Hearing and demand that the District either scales back its grandiose scheme for two extravagant new high schools or allows the public to vote on its plan as was intended by the Taj Mahal Act. Residents can also submit a letter regarding the Lower Merion High School Project to: Ms. Fran Keaveney, Secretary, Lower Merion School District, 301 East Montgomery Avenue, Ardmore PA, 19003 by no later than 2:00 PM on Friday, September 14, 2007
This is the last chance to be heard on the most expensive public high school construction project in Pennsylvania history. Please tell the District and the PDE that these schools are too big and too expensive, even for Lower Merion.
Stephen J. Gleason Rosemont
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