SW Parke Community School Auxiliary Gym in hands of voters

The future of a proposed auxiliary gymnasium at Riverton Parke is in the hands of voters within the SW Parke Community School Corporation district. 

Voters in Florida 1, Florida 2, Raccoon, Reserve and Wabash precincts have had an opportunity to participate in early voting ahead of the May 6 election, where the item is the only thing on the ballot. On May 6, voters can turn out to Rosedale Civic Center, Lyford Volunteer Firehouse, Collom General Store or the Montezuma Community Center from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to have their voice heard.

On the ballot is a referendum question as to whether or not the SW Parke Community School Corporation should raise taxes to pay for the auxiliary gym. The referendum would allow the school to issue up to $10 million in bonds, and the district has made it clear that not all $10 will be used. The school district has said it would target a facility that would cost between $6.5 million and $8 million. 

According to data put out by the school corporation, if the referendum is approved, property taxes paid to the school corporation would increase by 14.2 percent and the average tax paid by business property would also increase by 14.2 percent. This marks the first time the district has proposed a property tax referendum. 

Superintendent Dr. Phil Harrison told The Parke County Post the district got to the referendum portion after several citizens filed protest petitions during the bond hearing process. 

"As a superintendent, one of the questions that has come to me is can we add gym space. Every time we have looked at that, obviously, there is a financial obligation that is involved with that. We have gone through a lot of financial analysis over the years and every time it came back that it wasn't a favorable option for us. Within the last two years, we have seen an increase in assessed value in our district and that created a capacity for us to do some additional work. We did a financial analysis again and it came back that it could be a viable option," Harrison explained. 

Harrison said the district went through bond hearings last year, and after that is a 30-day petition process. During that time, citizens can offer up petitions saying they would like it to go a voter question, Harrison said. 

"There were enough petitions that came forward that qualified for us to move into the referendum phase," Harrison said, adding the district anticipated there would be petitions after doing an $11 million bond to upgrade facilities. 

Harrison said the district needs the auxiliary gym to help alleviate issues with gym space. 

"The high school facility opened in 1986 and opened as a grade 9-12 facility. Within a number of years, the seventh and eighth grade moved into that facility. Think back to 40 years ago and what was happening in high school athletics isn't nearly as much as what's happening today. Combining all these years with additional activities with students, plus we have the extra student load of 7-12 now, we need this space. This is designed to be an auxiliary gym that will accomodate not only athletic practices, but contests as well," Harrison said. 

Leading up to election day, there has been a barrage of comments on social media platforms about the auxiliary gym, taxes and what the referendum holds. Harrison said social media has "a lot of good" to it.

"You can get information out to a lot of people very quickly through social media. The issue arises when the information being put out isn't completely vetted and verified. That's where we get into a lot of he said, she said argument type things and it's not healthy. With the auxiliary gym process, everyone has an opinion, and that is great, and we want people to have questions answered. We hope people are getting their information from verified sources. We have our own social media feed and I can guarantee you the information is accurate when we put it out there," Harrison said. 

The veteran superintendent said the timing of the referendum is interesting as the Indiana General Assembly recently voted to do away with property taxes and Gov. Mike Braun signed the legislation into law.

"You couple the Senate Bill 1 timing with the timing of trying to create a community referendum for an auxiliary gym, yeah, that has created a number of challenges. I certainly understand why taxpayers would look at all of this situation and take a step back and say why are you asking now. My response is now is truly the best time. We have waited almost 40 years to do a build like this. It will not get cheaper tomorrow or the next day or down the road. All we know is we have today available to us. We have the capacity to do it today. If we have the capacity to do it today, why not today," Harrison said. 

In addition, the referendum question comes at a time when the district has already seen multiple upgrades across the district. There are new HVAC systems in place, ceiling and lighting upgrades, modern temperature controls,new fencing and security upgrades, new flooring, as well as cafeteria, commons and locker room renovations, and new plumbing, boilers and windows upgrades. 

Heading to the polls, Harrison admits he is "hopeful."

"I really am. I think anytime a community can rally around its schools and its students, I think that is a really good thing. I think communities need to invest that kind of money, time, energy into our schools and building our students. Anytime you have a community that does that, it shows how much the community cares for the students and itself. We want our students to learn and grow and be educated, and stay in our community and work in our schools. I am hopeful the community sees this as an opportunity to do something it hasn't done in a long time," Harrison said. 

Should it not pass, Harrison said the board will take a step back and assess where it is.

"We will still look at the needs and look at the best possible way to meet the needs that we have. Surely, there is some way we can meet the need. We may have to be more creative. I don't think the issue of the need goes away if this doesn't pass. The need still exists and it is one we still need to change," Harrison said.