- By Dan Veaner
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to Build a New Capital Improvement Project
If all had gone well, voters would be approving the Lansing School District's Capital Project Phase II this Tuesday. The original referendum would have been April 4th, but the Board of Education chose not to bring the proposal before the public because the chances of the $32-plus million dollar project passing were bleak. The missing ingredient in the last go-around was the taxpayers, so the District is starting there as they go back to the drawing board.
Last Wednesday (03/29) the first meeting of a dual-committee, citizen-based group gathered at the High School Library to learn about the process that will be used to revive the project with the goal of bringing it before the taxpayers in December of this year. Facilities and Community Awareness committees will meet and interact between now and mid-summer to bring a new proposal before the Board of Education (BOE) by July.
"Here we are again to talk about the needs of the educational program, specifically the physical plant and the infrastructure of our schools as we look down the road the next 15 to 20 years," said Superintendent Mark Lewis in his greeting to the 27 taxpayers, school board members, teachers and administrators who showed up Wednesday. "That's why you are so important to that process, because you are really the guiding force that's going to be the decision making force in this district with respect to what we propose to this community down the road."
He outlined a plan in which the two committees will meet regularly. The facilities committee is charged with building a project that can realistically be passed when it comes to a vote. They will start at zero to build a new project that meets educational and infrastructure needs that is acceptable to taxpayers. The Community Awareness committee will meet at the same time to establish two-way communication between the Facilities group and the Lansing public. They will be responsible for disseminating the information as well as getting input and feedback from community members. The strategy counts on the public voting for a project that originates from the voters, rather than the BOE.
Kirk Narburg of King & King Architects that is developing the project summed up the failed effort and what is to be learned from it. He faulted the lack of steady leadership in a period when there were two superintendents and two business managers. He also cited a lack of community input early enough in the process to make a difference."Whenever you lose a leader you're going to have problems," he said. "And we have."
One of the first things Lewis did when he began this year was to for the Ad Hoc Facilities committee. By that time it was too late in the process to save the project in a time when residents are expressing fear that taxes are already too high and will force them out of Lansing. This time the process will involve the public from the beginning.
Dave Dittman was critical of the new process, saying "How can we start without knowing where we are going?" He said that with no long-term education plan in place it will be impossible to build a project that meets the District's nonexistent long term goals. Lewis noted that he has begun the process of creating a long term plan for the district, and it is scheduled to be completed in May. That date fits the committee schedule, as the first part of its deliberations will be to research the district's needs and it won't begin putting together the project until May.
Lewis also noted that "No Child Left Behind," a Federal mandate that impacts federal funding to schools will have a big influence on long term planning and thus on the capital project. "That's going to have a critical impact on the way the program changes in the next 10 or 15 years," he said.
Dan Konowalo said that pushing for a December vote would rush the process. But Lewis expressed confidence that the committees and BOE could work within the proposed time frame, saying that if more time is needed it will be taken. Narburgh noted that December is statistically a good time to get referendums like this one passed.
The committees will be facilitated by residents, and supported by the district administration, architects and C&S Engineers, the project manager. Mark Stammer will facilitate the Facilities committee, and a facilitator has yet to be found for the Community Awareness committee. Stammer presented details on the process and schedule he hopes to follow.
Lewis promised transparency in the process, and promised to provide any documents the committees ask for. "Any information you want, we will provide it," he said. For example, the earlier committee asked for a list of program and physical needs that had been developed by an earlier facilities committee. They were given a summary only, to prevent that committee from nit-picking a project that was largely formed by the time it got to them. This time Lewis and Narburgh say the committee will get the full document, because it will be creating the project from scratch.
Most of those who came Wednesday signed up for the Facilities committee. Only one, Deputy Town Supervisor Bud Shattuck, has agreed to sit on the Community Awareness committee. He and others plan to recruit in the community to get more residents to serve. In fact neither committee is closed at this point. Lewis hopes to get a cross-section of Lansing residents and interests on both committees, so that they can truly represent the community.
Both committees will meet at least twice a month through June. Each will meet separately in different rooms, then get together for a joint session at each meeting. Those interested in participating on these committees can contact the School District office. Participants must agree to come to all of the meetings, to participate actively, to seek clarification of unclear issues and help communicate the need for improvements to the physical plant, explain the process and why decisions are being made. Meetings are planned for Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. The next meeting is scheduled for April 12.
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