At a school board meeting in April 2022, Noblesville residents were presented with an expansion plan for the high school.
The first phase of that expansion was the creation of a multi-purpose athletic area. That expansion meant we had to take on a $17.4 million bond with an estimated $5.5 million in interest. The school board approved that bond and construction is underway.
The second phase of the expansion was to be another $17.4 million bond plus interest for the construction of five STEM classes, renovation of choral and jazz facilities, band practice rooms, orchestra pit, auditorium stage, additional music practice area, storage, and classrooms. All those additions were to be accomplished within the existing structure and estimated at over 12,000 square feet. Public comments made by Noblesville residents affirmed the NEED for this second phase.
Here we are less than a year later, and what was supposed to be a $17.4 million expansion has now turned into seeking approval for a $39 million expansion. The interest on that bond is more like $22 million. The proposed expansion for the high school has gone from 12,000 to 70,000 square feet. What has changed?
We are moving away from sending our students to J. Everitt Light career center for CTE classes and instead having those classes in Hamilton County under the umbrella of the Pursuit Institute. Also, approximately six teachers are sharing classrooms or rotating through the building working out of moving carts. We must support our students by adding more CTE classes, and teachers and students are not well served by having to share classrooms. Moreover, we should increase the classroom size for the STEM classes to have space for future demand. We can also re-route some of the congestion at the current cafeteria by providing a café space where students can gather and have a light lunch or snack.
When the five STEM classes, the CTE class, the café area, and the six additional classrooms for teachers are added up we arrive at approximately 25,000 square feet of needed space. In a demographic study, presented to the board at the November 2022 meeting, the projected enrollment forecast for grades 9 through 12 for the next 10 years was zero or slightly below current.
Do we need 70,000 square feet when enrollment projections are almost flat? Do we need an additional 22 classrooms when we have only identified the need for 11 (five plus six)? The additional space amounts to a WANT – or wish list. We certainly do not need a budget that has almost tripled in less than one year. Assertions have been made that the school corporation can afford to take this debt on. Do you believe that just because we can that we should?
Our taxes are indeed capped at 1 percent of property value, but we are facing an increase in property assessments which could significantly increase the dollar amount we pay in property taxes. The board has the final say on how the school budget is spent. They will have to differentiate between what is needed and what is wanted.
Noblesville residents NEED a school board that is a good steward of our tax dollars. There is still time to go back to the drawing board and make modifications.
Two public meetings will be held before the school board votes on this expenditure. The first meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 13 in the Board Room at the Educational Services Center, 18025 River Road, Noblesville. The second public meeting will be held during the April School Board meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18.
The final public meeting schedule will be posted in The Reporter at a future date.