By Tricia Pursell
BEAVER SPRINGS — Three mothers of Midd-West elementary students say they are willing to pay higher taxes if that means their children can go to school in a safer environment.
The women approached the school board at Monday night’s public meeting at West Snyder Middle School to show their displeasure with several school board members who voted against a recent proposal to renovate the Middleburg Elementary School at an approximate cost of $16 million. The district is moving forward with the renovations.
The school board members expressed concern that an additional project that would raise taxes at a time when a more than $32 million project at the high school is already under way, and the board recently approved a land deal totaling nearly $1 million.
Lettie Siska, one of the mothers, expressed her gratitude to the board for taking steps to address the problems of mold and a leaking roof at the elementary school and to move forward with plans for a new building.
“I don’t want my children to sit in classrooms with buckets over their heads anymore,” she said.
Jenn Arbogast, who also has children in the school, called the conditions at the elementary building “deplorable.”
“I can’t afford to have my taxes go up,” she said, “but I have children in this school. I would flip burgers at McDonald’s to make sure my kids are safe. It’s not a matter of time, but a matter of urgency.”
A third mother, Tammy Ulrich, told the board that she is also willing to pay more taxes in order for the school to be safer for the students and for the teachers.
Her son, who attends the elementary school, has allergies that have gotten worse from being in that building day after day, she said, and she had to take him to the emergency room at one point.
“I believe it has to do with this school,” she said.
A new building is needed, she added, “so these children can learn and not be sick.”
A group of parents made the board aware last May of the problems at the building, including mold, a leaky roof and faulty plumbing and wiring.
A study was completed last year, which administrators said showed the amount of mold in the building was not unsafe to students.
In other business, the board voted 6-3 to install a new $117,000 phone system that would connect all the school buildings. The Middleburg Middle School currently has a separate phone number, and the current system would require creating a new and separate number for the high school this summer.The new system will cost the district approximately $50,000, according to Daphne Snook, director of curriculum, instruction and technology for the district.
