Elco sends message of waste

The Elco school board could have made the right decision on July 14. If done the right way, they could have put our district at the forefront of education in Pennsylvania.

[Cedarmania]

You fail to mention the difference in cost between builing a new school and renovating two old ones,$24 million to $17 million.

You want to pay higher taxes?

There's not enough land to expand Myerstown and Schaefferstown doesn't have public sewerage, so it can't get state money for an expansion. Remember, we're talking about expansions, not just renovations.

[Linda of S-town]

I absolutely agree with Brian. I got the impression from the board members at the meeting that had a wonderful public attendance (much to their dismay) that they were not at all interested in hearing what anyone had to say. This vote was 5 to 4. And I found it interesting that the letter announcing the meeting was to be sent out earlier and was not. If this is something that matters to you, educate yourself and do something about it. Attend the meetings and show that you care. I understand that not everyone will be happy with any decision BUT it seems that there is a large number of people in a small community who are concerned with the direction things are going.

When we consider the costs of our options, consider the long term additions to costs that we will pay YEAR after YEAR, also a matter of question is the true cost of a new build. It seems that all the costs are not included in the numbers presented, and those differences seemed considerable. That 20% on a green school is something that the board members seemed to ignore.

I have a 3 year old and I am very disappointed with this elected school board's approach to an important and long-lasting decision. Bigger isn't always better and we are not in a competition with the neighboring school districts. I hope we don't make a mistake that will affect us for a very long time.

[Clayton J]

I agree that residents need to become more involved in their local political structure - school board meetings, township meetings, etc.

I must admit, though, on this specific issue, I'm split. On the one hand, I appreciate the value of local schools, especially for elementary students. But, on the other hand, by consolidating the schools, the district is saving the taxpayers some big bucks. After all, who wants ever increasing property taxes?

[Raider]

Cedarmania, please check your facts or fix your wording before making comments.

Maybe a visit to the Elco website with downloadable option figures would help.

Yes, it's 17 mil to build the new school. But since the board voted to do the clustering, they have to add 6 classrooms to Jackson Elementary, bringing the net cost to about 20 mil.

No, it would not cost 24 mil to 'fix' the old schools. To 'fix' them, and I mean renovate without additions, it would cost about the same as building the 17 mil school. To renovate and add on classrooms to fit the population demands, that would cost 24 mil. But just so I can make a point, in Option 8 (additional options), where the plan would include renovating the two older schools for 17 mil, the district would have to add twice as many classrooms to Jackson, making the total closer to 22 mil.

Say what you want about how it was a good idea because it was cheaper or not, I personally think that extra 2 mil that will be burned off in the first year for transportation would have been better spent keeping the community happy.