From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Voters in Fort Wayne Community Schools approved a $119 million building plan Tuesday, giving the district the go-ahead to renovate 36 of its aging buildings.
According to unofficial results, 66.4 percent of voters approved the referendum on the district’s building plan. While 17,157 voters cast their ballot in favor of the measure, 8,674 voted against it.
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Last fall, Fort Wayne Community Schools staff identified up to $242 million worth of needed upgrades to its aging buildings. After a series of public meetings, the board whittled the plan down to $119 million worth of renovations at 36 buildings deemed most in need of repair.
Unlike the $500 million district building plan that was defeated in 2007, the current proposal calls for no additional square footage.
The majority of the plan, or about $100 million, will address major infrastructure needs, including heating and ventilating systems, window systems, safety systems and other problems at 10 schools.
The most expensive upgrade will be at Snider High School, where officials plan to spend $40.2 million to replace heating and cooling systems, replace windows, restore masonry and bring handrails and stairwells up to current code, among other projects.
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The building project will run from 2013 through 2016 and will cost the average homeowner a property tax increase of $27 a year, according to district officials. The plan will fall outside the property tax caps, meaning the cost will be shared by all taxpayers in the district and won’t increase the tax-cap loss for other units of government.
Board members hope that after the district completes the first round of projects in 2016, the public will approve all or part of the remaining $123 million in needed renovations.
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Last week, district officials announced the result of a study they commissioned concluding that the project could give a $13 million boost to Allen County’s economy and provide 1,500 jobs.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120509/LOCAL/305099975/1002/SEARCH
