Pottstown School District

By Evan Brandt, ebrandt@pottsmerc.com

POTTSTOWN Remember that pledge of up to $20,000 that school board member Thomas Hylton made last week to help pay for the architectural designs of new energy-efficient windows for Edgewood and Rupert elementary schools? In addition to causing a conflict, it may also have caused a conflict of interest.

So how does $10,000 sound instead?

Among the many provisions of last week's motion which included Hylton's pledge, was a proviso that the entire arrangement be given the legal sanction of school board solicitor Stephen Kalis.

But Kalis could not give it.

Kalis felt, Hylton informed the board Thursday, that Hylton's pledge which had him receiving the money back if the windows were ultimately installed in both schools; or half the money back if windows were installed in only one school created a conflict of interest for Hylton.

Because Hylton would have a financial interest in the outcome of future votes on the windows project, he would have to recuse himself from further voting, Kalis advised.

So acting on Kalis' advice, the board voted 7-1 Thursday night to rescind the Feb. 8 resolution, which included reference to Hylton's offer.

Hylton abstained from that vote.

Board member Michele Pargeon, who has steadfastly opposed the windows project, nevertheless cast the sole vote against rescinding the vote that awarded the architectural contract for that project.

Following further debate in which much the same arguments that have been made previously about this project were repeated, the board then voted 5-4 again to hire Crabtree Rohrbaugh Assoc. to design the windows at a cost of either $20,000 or 6.5 percent of the cost of the project, whichever is less.

This time the motion contained no mention of Hylton's donation or a pledge to make one; however, a donation was made anyway.

Hylton made an unconditional $10,000 donation to the district which solicitor Kyle Berman, who was sitting in for Kalis Thursday, said is legal and does not present a conflict for further votes on the windows project.

The board is free to spend that money however it sees fit.

Resident Stephanie Carmody suggested the board use the money to pay the costs of architect Ellis Schmidlapp, who toured the elementary schools over the winter break and issued a report to the district on their condition; a service for which he charged as much as $3,000.

The donation did little or nothing to mollify the opponents of the project.

"Nobody gives money unconditionally really," resident Bruce Madara told the board.

Former board member Philip Thees said that Hylton's $10,000 donation "should be graciously returned. It's like offering money to the board to support something."

"Where does the other $10,000 come from?" asked board member Polly Weand.

Hylton replied that the recent consolidation of three positions into two had generated $85,000 in savings. "Also, the district has an $835,000 capital budget, so those are two obvious places to look," he said.

"If this is a capital expense, then it is not 'maintenance' and that makes it something for the facilities committee. Stop ignoring Mr. Hartman," Thees said in reference to board member Robert Hartman.

Hartman chairs the facilities committee, which has not been consulted about the windows project, but instead the project has been recommended by the Neighborhood Schools Committee, which Hylton chairs.

Hartman said even if Hylton's donation is used to cover part of the cost of the design, the board still has not identified where the money for the actual windows and installation will come from.

Hartman said spending money on a project without an overall plan is a mistake the Pottstown district has made before.

"I'm a history major; don't doom this district by repeating history," said Hartman,

"We shouldn't spend money to get designs for a project when we don't know where the money for the project is coming from," Hartman said. "If you've got a fully funded grant to pay for this, I have no problem."

Hylton said he has identified a "zero-interest" financing source funded through federal stimulus money for which Pottstown and few other districts in Pennsylvania are qualified, if an application is made by April.

He noted that paying zero interest on a bond or loan over 20 years actually works out to a greater savings than the subsidy that would be available from the state by going through Pennsylvania Department of Education's PlanCon process.

But Pargeon said she does not understand why an architect is needed at all.

"I got a phone call from the Palladino company and they said they can put in replacement windows without an architect at all/ That would be a significant savings," she said.

"Not that I'm in favor of this. It's a frivolous expenditure, taking money away from our children and the programs that help them," Pargeon said. " We are dealing devastating blows to this community and its children by spending money frivolously."

"All we're trying to do is extend the life of these buildings for another 20 years," said board member Nat White. "I ran on that position and the voters supported us on that position."

Borough Councilman Jody Rhoads told the board, "What I'm getting here with these windows is that it is turning out to be a real farce. It's a 5-4 vote after 5-4 vote. Why can't you just drop this window situation and get on with the business of supporting education?"

Resident Jeff Leflar who, prior to the most recent vote, had said Hylton should recuse himself from further votes on a subject in which he had a financial interest, said Pottstown does too much busing to be said to have neighborhood schools and as such the board's Neighborhood Schools Committee should be abolished.

He also suggested board member Valerie Harris should recuse herself because she works for insurance agent George Wausnock, who recently submitted a letter published in The Mercury supporting the preservation of Rupert Elementary, the district's oldest building.

"I think she is influenced by this person and can't make an ethical decision, based on her employer," said Leflar.

Harris responded that her votes "have nothing to do with my employer. This has to do with me and what I was voted in to do. No one can speak to my heart but me."

She also countered that she is receiving phone calls, but from people "who are very much interested in seeing that we move forward with this."

Weand said she, too, had been receiving phone calls. "I'm being beaten over the head," from people who believe an effort to preserve and restore Rupert is under way at the behest of Preservation Pottstown, a nonprofit organization with which Hylton and Wausnock were once active and which is dedicated to historic preservation in town.

Addressing Hylton, Weand said, "If we're going through all this just for that group of people, that is a sin, to use taxpayer money to accomplish an effort that was begun nine years ago."

Hylton replied, "I ceased to have any relationship with Preservation Pottstown five or six years ago, not because of any falling out but because I was involved in a number of other things. I have no idea what they are doing or who is saying what to whom."

Hylton also said some of the comments, made consistently by Hartman, that an overall plan for the elementary schools needs to be agreed upon before any specific part is undertaken, "are very legitimate questions.

"We do need to be looking district-wide. We are acting on the windows now so that the work can be done over the summer," Hylton said. He suggested discussions of a district-wide plan would begin "in the next few weeks."

print