©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| District 205 Board Rejects $37 Million in Life Safety Work |
The Galesburg School District could be forced to do the work anyway by the state -- but for now, $38 million in work the district has had identified as life-safety repairs has been rejected by the school board.
The District-205 Board Monday night voted four to three against the work -- which includes repairs to Silas Willard, Lombard, Steele, and Galesburg High Schools including plumbing, electrical, and other work, but also included things like two-million dollars in repairs to the bleachers at Van Dyke Field.
Most of the work would be paid for with bonds that could be repaid with the district's proceeds from a proposed one-percent sales tax increase -- or, if it fails, a property tax increase. Board member Robert Lindstrom doesn't like the plan one bit, including the funding sources.
"We need a plan to fix these problems, no question about it," Lindstrom said. "But I don't like this plan. By passing this part of the puzzle [Monday night], with the state, we're tying our hands. The warning's there, my fellow members. By committing to this, we're doing $37 million of work in three to five years. In the environment we find ourselves [with the state budget situation], I don't think that's responsible."
That exacerbated board member Carl Strauch, who suggested the work could either be done within a state-mandated five-years, or later, when the costs will be much more expensive.
Strauch later said he was disappointed in the board's move, saying the board "doesn't know what it's doing."
Board members did approve a nearly $45 million budget for the current school year. |
|
| 09 14 10 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
