Friday, March 26, 1999
Sycamore planning new school
Fix-up gets too expensive
BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONTGOMERY — Plans to renovate aging Montgomery Elementary School have returned to an old idea: Build a new school.
The Sycamore school board voted unanimously Tuesday to look again for land large enough to hold a replacement school — preferably within Montgomery. The site would have to be about 16 acres for a school housing about 600 students in kindergarten through fourth grade and for playing fields for students and community use.
A climbing price tag and predictions of longer construction time to renovate 50-year-old Montgomery Elementary — squeezed on six acres facing busy Montgomery Road — caused the board to decide building new was better, Sycamore officials said.
“We believe the best use of tax money is a new facility,” said Superintendent Bruce Armstrong.
New estimates from architects put the cost at $8.6 million to renovate and $9 million to build new, Mr. Armstrong said. The cost of a new building would be cut, too, by sale of the old school and land.
Renovating the school could take as long as three years because it would have to be done in stages so classes could continue; a new school could be built in about 18 months, Mr. Armstrong said.
Board member Donald Hirsch said renovation could resurface as an option if a satisfactory site can't be found.
The decision Tuesday means the board will be looking again at 16 acres on Hopewell Road adjacent to Montgomery's new swimming pool, and fire and police offices in the Safety Center — about a mile north of the old school. The board's plans to buy the Hopewell property fell through last fall, and the board decided instead to renovate.
The change in plans upset some district residents who say the board misled them in November when it was trying to persuade voters to pass a $45 million bond issue. They were told, residents said, that part of the money was to renovate Montgomery Elementary, not to build a new school.
Voters passed the 2.39-mill bond issue for construction and improvements to all seven Sycamore schools. Mr. Armstrong said the ballot language allows the board to build or renovate.
“I feel it was misrepresented to us,” said Patti May, who lives close enough to the school to hear the children on the playground. “I voted because I wanted Montgomery Elementary to stay there. It's right in the heart of Montgomery. It's tradition. ... Also, I know what's there. I don't have to worry about what might go in (on the vacant site).”
Peter Hershberger, the school board's president, said that confronted with the higher costs, the board felt compelled to change plans.
“It was my understanding that we said in November we would renovate if practical. Based on what we learned now, it became somewhat impractical,” Mr. Hershberger said.
The board's back-and-forth on the Montgomery Elementary issue bothered David Pelfrey, too. He is spokesperson for a group of Sycamore residents who call themselves FANS (For a New School). The group pushed the board in November to build a new school.
“We wish it hadn't taken new estimates (to get a commitment to build),” Mr. Pelfrey said. “That was a mistake — to let people think they would renovate. ... You don't spend money to renovate on a site that small, in a building that old, in a location that poor.”
The school board's decision to build angered Janeanne Archiable, a Montgomery city council member.
“They should do what they promised to do when they ran the campaign,” she said. “That's what people voted for. I plan to do whatever I can to make sure they fulfill their promise.”
Bill and his 'boy' hash things over
Sixth-graders' loyalties tested by suspension
Ohio city restricts car-phone users
Police official joins memorial to shooting victim
Slaying suspect called jealous
Therapists OK trash-can mom for trial
Airline exchanges trips for food donations
Freedom Center's plans ambitious
Penguins waddle in, settle down
Right to sue HMOs to be stripped from Ohio bill
Car tag tax may be reduced
Vehicle tax can make or break political careers
East side road plans spur debate
Light-rail study called premature
Lost-baby case points to parents
Museum Center selects new director
Planner says vision for region catching on
Three DUI suspects have 10 priors among them
Workers get pizza instead of president
'Haggadah' book tied to 'Prince of Egypt'
Jimmy Carter faces aging with faith
Job loss, family death, auto accident test Crestview Hills couple
Learn about child safety while skating
Younger Harrelson making up for selfish years
Ban asked on reporters' testimony
Chabot leads drive to put TV cameras in federal courts
Chief given reprimand in 1995 Carlisle report details bad blood
Cleanup accepts tires, trash
Ex-UK player on DUI wreck: 'Scars will last forever'
HMO for low-income loses license
Mother, son sue over searches
Ousted mayor of Williamstown pleads guilty to bank robbery
School to shrink to limit expenses
Scramble for vets home
Sycamore planning new school
TRISTATE DIGEST
