Letter to the editor: New Quaker Valley school costs grossly underestimated

The interview of Mr. Antoline in the Aug. 6 issue of the Sewickley Herald, “Quaker Valley calculates the tax impact for the proposed high school project” contained a number of inaccurate and misleading statements. Citizen’s for a Great School, a non-profit organization based in Sewickley, has points of rebuttal:

• The $72 million cost quoted to renovate the existing high school is grossly over-inflated from the $50 million figure quoted in their March 2019 presentation and, by their own admission, contains tremendous waste.

• The $85 million cost quoted for the new high school on the Hilltop site fails to include any sports facilities, administrative office or even the land purchased (at a cost in excess of $10 million). The true cost of the new school, again according to that same presentation, exceeds $128 million.

• In attempting to frame the cost of the new school as nominal to the average taxpayer, Mr. Antoline failed to mention that the increases are cumulative and were initiated years ago. The homeowner paying $4,300 today was paying 15% less five years ago, will be paying 15% more five years from now and in 10 years, their real estate taxes will have nearly doubled.

• Interestingly, no mention was made of the fact that QVSD already spends more to educate a student than any other school district in Western Pennsylvania, including the nine schools that outranked them in the latest survey.

The way we live, work and play are all being redefined. The way we educate will have to follow suit and continuing to advance a plan that fails to recognize this reality is doomed from the start.

Mark Zappala, Citizens for a Great School

Sewickley