Finance committee members say building will save district $500k a year
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
This Sadsbury building is proposed to replace the Benner Education Center as the base for Coatesville Area School District administration as well as housing a healthcare center
Last month’s decision to open up negotiations for the building, which will be used for administrative and healthcare purposes, sparked controversy among some residents who said that money could be better used toward hiring new teachers or funding the Air Force Junior ROTC program, which is currently relying on independent fundraisers to continue operations.
Board member Joseph Dunn said that legally the district could not use the money for these things. The money used to purchase the building came from a bond fund, which the district is only allowed to use in certain capacities.
“It’s important to understand that bond funds can only be used for capital assets or to retire other bonds,” he said. “They can’t be used for operating expenses.”
Dunn said that expenses such as teacher salaries or paying for costs to run scholastic programs would be considered operating expenses.
Purchasing the building allows the district, in a partnership with Integrity Healthcare, to open up its own health facility, which will save an estimated $500,000 per year in healthcare costs, money which would usually go to hospitals and other facilities not run by the district or Integrity Healthcare.
“If the medical center doesn’t come, there are $500,000 of teacher cuts that have to occur,” said Dunn.
He also said that the district considered renting but could not afford to. Buying the Cumberland Insurance building seems like the best option because of how up-to-date it is and the building is, “so far below market value.”
Another factor that played into the decision was the status of Benner, which the new building is slated to replace. Benner is the district’s most expensive building to run — the Lincoln Highway building, built in 1915 was the original site of Coatesville High School — and the board said they it was trying to find sources of income other than taxpayers.
“One of the things we’ve been trying to do for the past couple of years is look at the older buildings, look at the buildings that are more expensive to run and replace them and bring in revenue,” said School Board President J. Neil Campbell. “It’s a business decision.”
Campbell added that once operations are switched to the new building, they can then sell Benner. He cited the potential of selling Gordon to Lincoln University in the future as another example of buildings generating revenue.
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