Diamond Lake Dist. 76 candidates weigh what to do with schools
None of the six candidates running for the Diamond Lake Elementary District 76 school board favors a tax hike to address pending multimillion-dollar building decisions, but some say asking voters to fund the work may be the only choice.
Seven options, including maintaining the existing buildings, closing one or two schools or even dissolving the district, are being evaluated as part of a master facilities plan.
An assessment showed more than $19 million in improvements will be needed in the next 10 years to keep the three schools functioning in a warm, safe and dry condition. Public input on the options is being accepted through Friday, but the board ultimately will determine what should be done.
On April 7, voters will choose from among six candidates for four seats on the District 76 school board. Incumbents Michael Kastler, Haresh Patel, Brian Walker and Lisa Yaffe are joined on the ballot by Joy Hail, parent teacher organization president, and Phil Sultan, an executive with Discover Home Equity.
The Daily Herald asked candidates whether they had a preferred option and whether a tax hike would be needed.
Walker, a benefits service manager, said he was "very much opposed" to asking for a tax increase. There is a "pretty negative feel" in the district because the last voter-approved tax increase didn't provide the promised benefits, he said.
But because even the maintenance-only package for the three buildings would be beyond the current budget, a referendum may be the only route, he said. Given that, he said, he has asked whether merging or dissolving the district would be among the options.
"I am very interested in seeing what the district would look like if it wasn't a district by itself, which is very hard for people to hear," Walker said. "It's a drastic measure, but I do think it needs to at least be vetted, that you at least need to do the groundwork for it and show the alternatives. So that if you do have to go to referendum, you can really show we've done all of our research."
Yaffe, the board president, said West Oak Middle School is an asset and it should be maintained. She said she is on the fence about Diamond Lake School but thinks funding Fairhaven School is not efficient.
"I have a hard time spending our taxpayers' money on maintaining facilities when we could be spending it on staff, professional development, programming, curriculum, etc. That needs to be solved somehow," she said.
"A referendum is not out of the question, but it's not the direction we would like to go," she said. Her preference would be to sell the Fairhaven property and figure out ways to better use other buildings, such as expanding West Oak, Yaffe said.
Hail said she favored closing Fairhaven School but noted she didn't have access to all information.
"I would think that we would want to look at the facilities that would allow us the most opportunities to expand that were in the most desirable and central location," she said.
As the options range up to $30 million, Hail said she needed more detail to give a definitive answer on a potential referendum question. That possibility would have to be explored if the most costly option was selected. It would require a strong campaign to show how it would be best for students and increase home values, for example.
Sultan said any choice, including dissolving the district, will affect taxpayers, students and teachers. "No decision can be made lightly, especially given the size of these investments," he said.
"I don't think at this point there is a clear answer as to what the right option is." A "lot of research" is needed to evaluate the benefits and means of paying for each option, he added.
"I think we're still at the beginning of this," he said.
Kastler, a technology consultant appointed last November to fill a board vacancy, said any changes will have to consider how teachers, students and the "educational process" will be affected.
"I do support the closure of Fairhaven. However, I would like to see us consider some out-of-the-box or alternative solutions," he said.
While he believes tax increases can be "an important part of properly financing" a district, he said it is essential to first consider cost savings and efficiencies.
Patel, who was appointed in September to fill a board vacancy, said he does not favor a particular plan.
"I do consider all the aspects of options provided from (a) financial and long term perspective," he said, adding he does not feel the need for a tax hike question at this time.