Petitioner Seeks to Stop Bonds Claims Public Should Have Had More Input
By JOHN MARTIN, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7594 or martinj@courierpress.com
The local resident leading a petition drive to halt a series of Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp. construction projects says the public hasn’t had enough input into the process.
Frankie Niedhammer, a member of the Vanderburgh County Taxpayers Association, said she doesn’t think the plan will accomplish its goals of improving education and making schools more equitable.
But “the No. 1 issue is, people don’t have a chance to make a vote,” Niedhammer said Friday. “Many people I talked to thought it was going to be on a referendum in November. I explained to them that it is not, and their ‘vote’ is through a remonstrance process.”
The petition drive is to stop a $149 million bond issue that would fund most key items in the plan, such as a new North Side high school ($58.2 million) and middle school ($27 million).
Those projects and a series of other moves, which include turning the existing North High School into a middle school, are aimed at reducing school crowding in the North attendance district.
Other planks of EVSC’s plan create four K-8 schools and three preschools. It also addresses technology shortcomings across the school system.
Superintendent Vincent Bertram said the plan is “tax neutral,” meaning it will not increase EVSC’s current tax rate of $1.17 per $100 of assessed valuation, so he wonders why a taxpayer advocacy group would oppose it.
A 20-year, $149 million bond issue funds most of the work. It is to be paid as other EVSC debts, on pensions and an energy savings contract, are retired. Other parts of the plan are to be funded from EVSC’s capital projects budget.
Niedhammer says the plans, which have the School Board’s unanimous support, are “vague.”
She said she does not believe programs such as preschools and full-day kindergarten, which the corporation recently restored, have long-term impact on children’s education.
School corporation officials describe such initiatives as critical.
Niedhammer questions whether the construction projects will lead to better educational opportunities.
“Buildings don’t make kids smarter,” she said.
Niedhammer, a property manager and former teacher, has been a familiar presence at School Board meetings.
She records the meetings, takes detailed notes and regularly addresses the board on topics ranging from full-day kindergarten to bus transportation.
Niedhammer said she does not believe the school system has spent public funds wisely in several instances. She criticized construction of a gymnasium at Plaza Park Middle School as an example.
“My sources are often people in the corporation who fear for losing their employment and ask me to carry a message,” said Niedhammer, a former School Board candidate.
Niedhammer said school population issues should be addressed through redistricting.
Bertram has said government-mandated school choice, as well as rapid residential North Side growth, have complicated the school population problem. He said a more thorough approach than redistricting is required.
He said the plan is designed to have as few students as possible changing schools.
The superintendent rejected claims that his plan lacks details and that the public hasn’t had enough input, citing a series of about 50 public forums and individual meetings with citizens and groups.
Niedhammer attended four of Bertram’s public forums.
The Vanderburgh County Taxpayers Association, of which Niedhammer is a member, was created earlier this decade while EVSC pushed for passage of a tax increase to sustain several programs.
David Coker, the association’s former president and a founding member, resigned that position in April amid a debate over whether to oppose the EVSC projects.
Niedhammer said Coker’s stance is “disappointing,” but she and a few other active members are going ahead with their remonstrance effort.
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