Harsh words for school board - Chadds Ford Live

Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board directors and superintendent got another earful from angry residents Monday night. A lawsuit was threatened, and the words “incompetent” and “reprehensible” were used to characterize the board’s approach to the proposed new middle school.

One resident called the board “incompetent” and another said he might file a lawsuit against the district. One person did speak out in favor of replacing the school.

The Feb. 10 work session was the last meeting before the board votes on Superintendent John Sanville’s recommendation that the district spend an estimated $120 million to build a new middle school to replace C.F. Patton Middle School. That vote is scheduled for Feb. 18.

That vote, according to a presentation on Monday, is to determine whether or not to is a Request for Proposal for design services to replace Patton.

The focus of Sanville’s remarks was on the proposal to replace Patton. He rehashed much of the reasoning that led him to recommend a new school building, rather than renovating or simply maintaining the current building.

He said there were 14 concerns — “chronic concerns” — as he called them, that arose from a feasibility study that was conducted to determine which way to go. As he had said before, 76.5 percent of Patton is original. Plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems have never been upgraded since the school was built in 1972. Several renovations of the school were made around the original structure leaving 70 percent of the classrooms with no windows, which results in a lack of natural light. The school is also not ADA-compliant.

“When this school was built in 1972,” he said. “It was something the community was proud of…I had many windows.” But he added, “It was something that was almost immediately too small. It was never properly right-sized.”

While the replace option, as opposed to renovate or maintain, is the costliest, Sanville said it has a better return on investment compared to the other options. It also addresses all of the “chronic concerns.”

“The maintain option, which is the least expensive of the three, that’s still $70 million.”

Even with the tax increase deemed necessary to replace Patton, Sanville said any tax increase would remain within the Act 1 Index, which he said is “the cost of inflation, the rate of inflation,” and that the board is already committed to keeping tax increases within the Act I limits.

“That is a promise and a commitment to the community that we are going to live within our means,” said Sanville who is retiring at the end of July. He added that the vote on Feb. 18 “has no financial or tax implication. None, none, none. That’s important for the community to know.”

Comparing the options, Sanville said, the maintain option would cost $67.3 million at present but would wind up $89.1 million over 20 years. Tax increases for that would be $19 per year for the average home. Renovation would cost $113.1 million with a tax increase of $40 per year and take seven years to complete the renovation. The replace option, at $120 million, would take five years to complete and the tax increase would be $42 per year.

And it’s that $42 figure that has some people concerned.

Director Brian Schartz, who represents Region C which includes Chadds Ford and Pennsbury Townships, asked a basic question: “What is the real dollar cost to our community for approving this plan?”

Sanville’s response was that “it’s difficult to say,” but he repeated that there would be no tax increase beyond the Act 1 limit. He then brought Director of Finance Joe Deady into the conversation.

Deady said that if the project goes through as suggested, and all the debt for the $120 is built in, that will average $426,000 budget increase over the next nine budgets.

“That $426,000 budget increase,” he said, “if we just isolate that number, that equates to the $42 increase for the average homeowner.”

Schartz then was more direct.

“That $42 per year, that’s going to accumulate over time. It’s per year for nine years?”

Deady confirmed that by saying the district would have to build in the $426,000 to the debt service every year for nine years. That translates to an increase of $42 every year for that time frame.

The discussion became hotter when residents had their turn to comment, and Chadds Ford’s Salvatore Faia began saying he, an attorney, was representing himself and other Chadds Ford residents.

“We believe that any attempt to approve this outrageous project, at a cost of $120 million, a cost that exceeds the entire Chadds Ford budget, and Mr. Deady conveniently obfuscating the facts, that the budget will continue to go up in addition to what they’re doing today, will result in the institution of a class action lawsuit against each and every board member.”

Faia also said he’s requesting Deady’s documents, “and for every single document referred to by the parties here tonight.”

He continued, saying “We do not need mood lighting for our students. We need education for our students.”

Mark Stookey, another Chadds Ford Township resident who has spoken out against the project and the way the numbers have been presented addressed those same issues again on Monday.

Stookey, who has a background in finance with 30 years at DuPont handling billions of dollars in revenue.

“In January, when I reviewed the financial data for this project, I found the analysis to be incomplete, misleading, and incompetent,” he said. “I’ve tried to engage the district to fix this many times and in many ways, but to no avail.”

He said he’ has emailed and spoken with members of the board and the district but there has been no engagement on the district’s part.

“Even though I’ve raised what I think are very responsible questions about the financial analysis of this project, never has anyone contacted me asking me how I got that number. That has not happened, and I find that to be totally irresponsible. I find the whole thing reprehensible.”

He added that the $42 figure is “misleading and I want to say a falsehood.”

“The $42 accumulates over time,” he said. “It’s $42, it’s $84, it’s $126 blah, blah, blah until it reaches about $400 per year. And then it goes on at $400 a year for 20 years or whatever the length of the debt is. I’m appalled that John Sanville stood up and read that number $42. I had a conversation with Joe Deady this afternoon to say this was not representative. This is misleading and it’s wrong, yet we are still hearing that number with no real explanation.”

He went on to see the district’s numbers are wrong while his are correct.

“Your financial analysis is wrong; you’re not listening to somebody who knows financial analysis. It’s time to put the brakes on this project…In my professional opinion it would be totally irresponsible to continue on this course,” Stookey said.

Others spoke against the project and the way the board and administration have handled the numbers. There were accusations of a lack of transparency regarding the effects of increased taxes, and that the board only asks “softball questions” of the administration. Several others said money should be spent on improving the district’s ranking instead of on a new school, and that the concerns about Patton can be addressed by the maintain option.

Another person said the decision seems predetermined for the replace option while the maintain option can address the concerns Sanville expressed earlier in the meeting.

Judy McCloskey, of East Marlborough Township, spoke in favor of a new school building. She said she’s employed by the district and works at Patton.

McCloskey repeated many of the things Sanville said about the school’s physical systems — plumbing, electrical, and others — needing to be upgraded, that the building is not ADA compliant, and the hallways are too narrow. She added that the cafeteria is used several times a week as a testing center because there’s no other space in the school.

At one point while she was reading her statement, Faia interrupted her by saying she had gone beyond her three-minute time limit and “We don’t want more self-serving statements from the school district.”

McCloskey continued after the interruption saying, “I urge the board to take into account that while students spend three years at the middle school, the staff often spends decades here. This is not just about adding more natural light. This is about addressing the more urgent issue of a building that no longer meets the needs of our growing population. It’s essential that all these factors be taken into consideration.”

The vote is scheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 18. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.