With no remonstrance petition filed by the 4 p.m. Monday deadline, Warsaw Schools can move ahead with Step 1 of its three-step building project.
"We had them pick up the petitions, but haven't seen or head from them since," Kosciusko County Clerk Sharon Christner said Monday.
Christner even waited until the Justice Building closed at 4:30 p.m. before officially calling the deadline passed, but no petitions were turned in.On June 6, former Warsaw School Board member Cathy Folk indicated she was considering filing a petition to remonstrate against the project because of the tax impact to property owners and because the school board lacked a master plan. Christner said no one else besides Folk picked up a petition or called for more information.
"We are real pleased. We are able to get things moving in the right direction," said Warsaw School Board President Ron Yeiter of the lack of remonstrance. There is still a lot of preliminary work to do, he said, and construction won't even begin until spring 2008. But with no remonstrance, there won't be any further delays.
"It allows us to move forward and do things for these kids" that need to be done, he said.
In a telephone interview this morning, Folk said she spent 20 to 25 hours and a couple of tanks of gas to collect about 80 signatures.
"I had an emergency at the farm," she said of why she failed to collect the required 100 signatures. "I had my mare go down."
The 30-year-old horse is her passion, she said, and she has had it for 22 years. She decided to take care of the horse instead of going out to collect the additional signatures needed.
Of the people she asked for signatures, Folk said, only two people refused. People were willing to sign the petition, she said, because of the tax rate impact of the project and they thought $65 million was a lot of money.
She also said she doesn't think people understand the remonstrance process. People think that once a school board votes on an issue, it's a done deal. She told many people they could remonstrate against a project if they just get the paperwork completed.
Steps two and three of the building project also have remonstrance periods. Folk said since she missed this remonstrance deadline, she was not going to fight this, but she still thinks it's wrong. The school board needs to be careful, however, because property owners are upset with their tax rates anyway, she said.
"I'm not upset with anyone," Folk said, "it's the process, unfortunately."
While gathering signatures, Folk said she received only positive comments and people were really receptive to her. "I really appreciate all the phone calls and e-mails I got. All were positive," she said.
To launch a remonstrance, Folk needed to collect 100 signatures and submit them to the county clerk's office by 4 p.m. Monday. Signatures could include property owners or registered voters within the Warsaw School District.
On May 21, the school board approved moving forward with Step 1 of Option A by a vote of 6 to 1, with board member Delores Hearn opposed.
Step 1 includes replacing Leesburg Elementary with a new four-section school for $16 million; expanding and renovating Claypool and Jefferson schools for $10 million each; and replacing Madison with a new four-section school for $16 million. The total bond issue for Step 1 is $65 million. The total cost for the entire Option A is approximately $100 million. The other two steps, if approved, include addressing the facility needs of the other elementary schools and the two middle schools in the school corporation.
Todd Samuelson, Umbaugh & Associates, Plymouth, said the estimated tax rate impact for the $65 million bond issue per $100 of assessed valuation is $0.1771. The maximum term to pay the bond back is 26 years.
The remonstrance process could have pushed the project back 60 to 90 days.
During the 2003-04 school year, the school board had a $30 million building project on the table. Folk voted in favor of that project, but it was halted by a remonstrance.
Following that remonstrance, the board decided to close three elementary schools - Silver Lake, Claypool and Atwood - which contributed to the overcrowding problem the school corporation currently faces. Folk voted in favor of closing the three schools.
Jamie Lake, of KovertHawkins architects, Jeffersonville, said the lack of a remonstrance means the process was well-received by the community. KovertHawkins is the firm hired by the Warsaw School Board for the project.
"I think it's a great thing to hear," Lake said. "What that means is that a process held so openly to the public works."
About 27 school board meetings and public forums over nearly two years were held on the building project, and the public was given time to provide input on the project during those meetings.
With the deadline for a remonstrance passed, Lake said that means no further delays in the process the school corporation is going through. He then provided an estimated timeline for the project.
On July 19, Lake said architects and school officials will make their presentation on the building project to the Department of Local Government Finance for state approval.
Final construction documents will be delivered in February, with bids received in April. At the end of April, Lake said, construction bids should be awarded. Construction for all four buildings should begin in May. The sites for new Leesburg and Madison schools is yet to be determined.
The goal, Lake said, is for the expanded and renovated Jefferson and Claypool schools to be opened in fall 2009. The new Madison and Leesburg schools could be opened as early as spring 2010. The timeline could alter depending on the school board's discretion.
