Mt. Lebanon board member urges postponing school projects
By Matthew Santoni
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Growing debt, meager cash reserves and economic uncertainty have Mt. Lebanon school board member James Fraasch asking his colleagues to consider postponing the $130 million high school replacement project for more than a decade.
Fraasch recently took his case to the school board's audit and finance subcommittee. He argued that the district already is paying $5 million a year on existing bonds and has not set enough money aside for construction to avoid a 15- to 20-percent tax increase.
He said he hopes his proposal -- making some repairs, establishing a construction fund and delaying construction of a school until 2020 -- will be considered in February, along with four other options for renovation and replacement.
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"People deserve to have an option out there that does not include a massive tax increase," Fraasch said.
He said the board is awaiting revised cost estimates from construction manager P.J. Dick Inc. before determining exactly how much would be borrowed and how much taxes might be increased.
"The subcommittee is not making any recommendations before we get the updated numbers from the construction manager," said Edward Kubit, chair of the audit and finance subcommittee. "We'd rather have accurate information and wait a couple of weeks than rush it and have information that's less than 100 percent."
The district already is deep in debt after borrowing $55 million in 2005 to update its elementary schools and won't start making large payments on that debt until 2017, Fraasch said. And only about $9 million has been set aside for the high school project from budget surpluses in previous years.
"Every dollar you're spending to service debt is a dollar you're not giving to our kids for education," Fraasch said.
Instead of replacing the high school, Fraasch proposed a lower investment of $10 million to $15 million to make essential repairs during the next two to three years, financed with a 1-mill increase in property taxes. A portion of the increase would be set aside to either pay down future debt or be invested into large school projects in the future.
Delaying the high school project 10 years would allow the district to pay down its debts, accumulate money in the reserve fund and recoup some of its investment in repairs to the existing school, he said.
"I have many questions about the assumptions on which Mr. Fraasch bases his proposal and look forward to having them answered so I can better evaluate its merits," said board member Josephine Posti. Her immediate reaction to delaying the project, though, was to consider it "irresponsible and impractical."
High interest rates on the municipal bonds that the district would need are another reason to avoid borrowing and building now, Fraasch said.
Director of Finance Janice Klein has said, however, the district wouldn't start borrowing the money for years, even if the project moved forward quickly.
Matthew Santoni can be reached at msantoni@tribweb.com or 412-380-5625.
I look forward to getting final numbers from the CM and Architect in the coming weeks.
Thanks for reading.
James Fraasch
