Posturing overcomes common sense (08/31/07)

There's been no shortage of foolishness and political cant in this summer of uproar over property taxes in Indiana.

But some sort of booby prize ought to go to the Department of Local Government Finance for its handling of the South Adams Schools construction project.

Politics, not common sense, is driving decisions more than ever these days in Indianapolis.

In the current overheated climate, the DLGF has essentially put all construction projects on hold because the Daniels administration doesn't want to get blamed for approving them.

Are all those projects good ones? Are all of them in the best interests of taxpayers? Probably not. And you can make a good case that the state ought to give school construction greater scrutiny.

But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the South Adams project is both worthy and necessary.

When South Adams officials and school district residents took their case to the DLGF for review, they were met with political posturing rather than a willingness to consider the project on its merits.

Had they given it an honest assessment, DLGF officials would have found:

•The project is using a design/build approach, which will result in significant savings.

•The project won dramatic support from the school community in a dueling petition drive after a remonstrance was filed.

•South Adams has been historically conservative when it comes to school corporation debt.

•The project is sorely needed, with the middle school facility in Geneva posing a safety hazard.

But to reach those conclusions would have required political courage. It's much easier to call for a complete moratorium on school construction until the tax protests cool down.

Unfortunately, a blanket moratorium means that the worthy projects - like the one at South Adams - will cost more in the long run. And the folks seeking political cover in Indianapolis won't be picking up the tab. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]