$17 million Grove City school project would displace wrestling team
Apr. 16—GROVE CITY — While the Grove City Area School District is in nearly dire need of mechanicals, electric and plumbing systems, the school board debated on making short-term repairs versus spending $17 million to replace the whole system.
However members of the board felt that they were not given ample time to hear all the facts and postponed making a decision.
"Last time we had a meeting we discussed two options, now we are really only talking about making this $17 million dollar decision. When did we decide this is what we are doing?" board member August Hurst said during Monday's meeting. "We also haven't even looked into spending more, what if we spend $20 million and make improvements we haven't thought about yet. I just feel like there's more to do here."
The school will have to take out a loan that would be repaid over the course of 15 to 20 years, as shown in a presentation by Beth Harris, the school's business manager.
Another complication is that was the school's wresting team would be hurt by the project. The team would have to switch its room with the weight room, which is roughly 800 square feet smaller.
"Instead of receiving congratulations on having one of the best seasons this school has seen, we're being told we might have to change rooms into a smaller one," said Martin Phipps, the brother of head coach Wesley Phipps.
The change in size would limit the number of students on a growing wrestling team, and it would also put the school's Fred Bell tournament, a prestigious tournament in Pennsylvania, in danger, because the room may no longer meet qualifications.
While the majority of the concerns were about the future of the program if they are forced to move into a smaller room, there was also anger about the head coach being unaware of the possibility.
"I have a hard time believing that if something were to happen to the football field, the coach wouldn't be aware well in advance," Wesley said. "Meanwhile I only heard about this by luck a couple days before action could be taken."
Wesley claims to have spoken to the athletic director once he heard about the issue, but was assured that nothing would happen even though the vote was being held days later.
Cheerleaders also use the space to practice, and the smaller room would put the cheerleaders at risk of hitting walls during their stunts.
Ryan Thomas, the board member in charge of facilities, personally apologized to Wesley for the way things transpired. He believed Wesley had been properly filled in on the issue.
The board ultimately decided it wasn't ready to make the decision yet. Members will discuss the options further at an April 22 special meeting, and a voting meeting will be held on April 29 if members feel ready. They will discuss other options for the wrestling team, along with other potential repairs to make if the decision is to take the loan.
Ty Kohler can be contacted at tkohler@alliednews.com.
