School board hears concerns, suggestions from residents

By Teresa Stowell of the Daily Times staff
Friday, April 20, 2007 1:19 PM CDT

Residents shared their suggestions and thoughts of the recently failed school facility referendums during a special meeting Thursday night with the Watertown Unified School District Board of Education.

Over 20 residents attended the meeting giving their input on the board's proposed facility referendum to build a new elementary school and renovate two other schools that failed twice this school year.

Many said the school design was too elaborate and the cost to expensive. Others felt the school should be built on land owned by the district, and some said the middle school should have been addressed and included in the plan.

“I had a firm no vote on this referendum. Then Brad Clark, principal at Webster School, took me on a tour of the school and it opened my eyes and I realized there was a space issue,” Brad Blanke, 1319 Randolph St., said. “We do need the space but I think the plan was short sighted. A lot of people said to me that we should build a new middle school now and turn the middle school into an elementary. I agree. I think if you try to get a new elementary now, you won't get a middle school later.”

Eric Iverson, 609 Mary Knoll Lane, also said building a new middle school and turning the middle school into an elementary school seemed like the best option.

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“A new middle school would benefit everyone,” Iverson said. “A new middle school would cost way more money than an elementary school, but then you're done and you're not coming back to us five or six years down the road asking for more money for another school. I heard from three or four different people in the community who said that's how they thought it should be done.”

Blanke said he also felt people didn't like that they didn't know what would happen in five years with the middle school.

“A lot of people had the perception that in five or six years when it came time to build a new middle school the current middle school would be closed,” Blanke said.

Dr. Diana Jones, 1109 Center St., also said people were unsure of the whole plan and wanted to be more involved.

“I think people did want to know the whole picture including what would happen with the middle school,” Jones said. “I suggest consensus building. Many people understand the needs but they want more say. You need to come up with a lot better ways to include the citizens and let them help decide how their money is spent.”

After working for seven years in the district, Diane Smith, 903 Edgewater Court, said she understands the space issues and knows every available space has been used. Smith said although there is a need, cost is a concern to many people.

“I have spoken with and heard many people indicate how higher taxes will hurt them. I've seen elderly people cry about this,” Smith said. “I think you need to show the people in Watertown that you're sensitive to those with fixed incomes and that you're being frugal with their money. The city wants good schools, but the best has become the enemy of good.”

Mike Wagner, 206 Cherrywood Lane, said he also understands the need for more space but believes there needs to be a balance between cost and need.

“After showing us pictures of cafeterias from other school districts I think people looked at that and said we don't need that. We need a room for kids to eat in,” Wagner said. “Cutting $600,000 from the first referendum isn't even 3 percent. I think if you really cut the costs and addressed the need people would be in favor.”

Using property the district owns and building a new intermediate school was a plan Dave Frohling, 515 Oak Park Ave., supported as a member of the citizen's committee over a year ago.

“When the board was voted down the first time a lot of people felt the board insulted their intelligence by only cutting 3 percent,” Frohling said. “You need to make a more significant cut. Justify what you're keeping and what you're not.”

He said the board needs to inform the public of every aspect of the project including the cost of the land. “People had no idea what they were paying for,” Frohling said. Bill Simpson, 609 Arlington Way, also said a long range plan for people is important and with this project there were a lot of unknowns.

Board member Kurt Larsen said while many think voting down purchasing a site for the school would save a large amount of money its minimal compared to the cost of the project.

“A lot of people got hung up on the property and that's a tragedy,” Larsen said. “How much do you think the cost of 15-20 acres really carves off a $10 million project? People might think by not purchasing the land we're saving millions when its really in the hundreds of thousands.”

“The attitude that $400,000 isn't much is what gets you in trouble,” Frohling said. “You need to be fiscally responsible and owning a lot of property and not using it is not fiscally responsible,” Frohling said.

A number of those in attendance also mentioned the concern in the community in closing another school. The referendum plan called for closing Lincoln School once the new school was built.

“Closing Concord School is still on a lot of people's minds and many believe it helped with the congestion in our schools now,” Blanke said. “Why not make Lincoln School into a one-track K-5 school which would take care of the student transfer issue there.”

Alvin Schloesser, of 1214 Juneau St., said he voted no for the elementary school. He also voted against the high school years ago because he thought the site was too large.

“I was opposed to the amount of acreage they wanted at the time but they told us another school would eventually be built there,” Schloesser said. “By wanting to purchase more land for a new school you're going back on the word of the administration who was here at that time. I think the most efficient way to do this is to build up by the high school.”

Board president Dennis Rambo said the board will consider the comments made at the meeting and will be thinking of new ways to solve the district's space issues.

“I can tell you the next referendum will be radically different from the first time. I can't tell you what it will be at this time but it will be different,” Rambo said. “We're also probably looking at trying again in one year.”