Letter to the editor: QV should take advantage of low costs, low interest rates for new school

Robert Steup’s letter to the editor frames the decision to build a new high school as one of tax impact. What his letter ignores is the reality that tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have arguably been wasted, over several decades, by continually repairing and renovating the almost century-old former Leetsdale High School.

No one who has been in this building recently could argue that the taxpayers have received a good return on this investment. The current high school building is an embarrassment to the community. It would be irresponsible for the school board to continue the practice of throwing good money after bad.

The school board now has a once in a lifetime opportunity to save the taxpayers of Quaker Valley millions of dollars on the cost of the new high school. Current construction bids, for projects of similar scope and size to the new high school, are coming in substantially below expectations, due to the downturn in construction activity caused by the pandemic.

Additionally, long-term borrowing costs have fallen to lifetime lows and present the school district with the opportunity to issue bonds to finance the building project at interest rates that will save taxpayers millions of dollars more. The district recently saved $4.7 million by refinancing the current outstanding debt at these historically low interest rates.

In September of 2016, the QVSB accepted the recommendation of engineers, hired by the board to investigate renovating the school, and concluded the current high school site isn’t a viable option for long-term use. In the past four years, no one has come forward with solutions to overcome the specific barriers identified by the engineers, and the board has continued to move forward with a new site, investing in the property and appropriate due diligence.

Obstruction of this project and any resulting delay will cause all of us to lose the money-saving opportunity of the current low-cost environment and ironically, cause the exact higher tax impact that Mr. Steup states he is seeking to avoid.

The school board should be doing everything it can to expedite the bidding and financing of this project. Any delay, given the current cost-saving opportunities, would be negligent.

Rich Webb

Sewickley