Time To Get Back To Work
Break time is over.
If 2003 has any preconceived definition it is this will be a year of balanced economics. It will also be a defining year for the 2004 presidential race, which means the big players need to get the economy in shape to attract voters.
Here in Plymouth, the back-to-work edict applies to the ongoing school plans more than to any other taxpayer-supported entity. The city�s supposed shortfall � it�s not a shortfall if it never comes to pass � will be handled. This is a citywide election year. The folks running for office will not allow a deficit to muddy those waters.
So the schools have the tough road.
The school corporation wants to improve the schools. No one can argue with that.
Schools � and, by extension, the future of our children � are the only investment that really matters.
This newspaper once editorially supported the concept of school infrastructure improvement and that led some members of the Tax Awareness Committee to place the newspaper on the side of the school corporations grand renovation plan.
Not exactly.
The committee, of course, has waged a spirited argument against the grand plan, usually pegged at the $26 million bond issue , which all but died in 2002. The committee has won a state Supreme Court decision saying they have a right to a courtroom remonstrance. That places the whole issue back at the start.
More than that, the prolonged legal battle means the bonds were not issued in 2002 and that ups the ante for the schools.
All along, members of the committee have said they are not against school improvements. They asked for a step at a time rather than one all-encompassing project.
One committee member told me that there would be no protest at all if, for example, the work at the high school was proposed as a separate project. Once that was done, he said, the schools could then start another project. It may well take 20 years � the length of time it would take to pay off the projected original bond issue � to complete them all, but, as they were lined up, the economic conditions at that moment would be the deciding factor, not the economic conditions as they now exist.
The idea of this, the biggest building project in 2003 is complex. Construction folks need jobs. Chances are, some of the workers on a school renovation would be fathers and mothers of school children or even products of the school system. A circle of community life
The whole local economy would benefit from increased employment spurred by a major project.
The school leaders have already invested tax money in court fees. They need to invest more in redrawn plans, in reissued bond proposals. The costs will not stop unless the project stops.
And that�s the heart of the complexity.
School leaders need to decide if this project is dead, if they will propose a new, scaled-back plan. If there will be several projects.
Some construction industry leaders have told us it is more expensive to phase-in projects, because each phase requires a bond issue, paying someone to finance the bond, pay ing an upfront fee to keep construction companies on a retainer fee, an on and on.
Another interesting angle to the whole concept is the backing of the local business community, those who pay the most taxes. In this case, Plymouth merchants, PIDCO and Plymouth Industrial Association have all publicly support the original project.
The idea of school improvements remains a good one. No one can argue that schools must be constantly updated to produce the best learning environments. No one does argue that.
It�s time to get back to work. It�s time to offer a reasonable compromise. There are smart folks involved in this. There is no reason for abdication.
|
|
| Community Calendar |
|
No events listed.
|
|
Interactive Calendar
|
