Commissioners ask the council for $15 million up front and $6 million a year for 20 years toward a $222 million school plan

Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard opened the county commissioners' presentation on behalf of Commissioners Chris Switzer and Mike Morris.

He said the commissioners got involved because conversations with the Chamber of Commerce, the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation, and local employers kept surfacing one problem: the county's ability to attract executives, professionals, and working families to live here.

Commissioner Switzer said the casino, once seen by some as a detriment, had become a potential provider of nearly $100 million to the school system, and that the school corporation did not approach the commissioners — the commissioners had been meeting on this for years.

He said the plan before the council is Option 6.2, and that the council's vote is on whether to move it forward.

When Randy Gentry asked whether a property tax offset had been discussed, the answer was that it had not.

Mark Elliott, who chaired the oversight board, laid out the money.

The project cost is $222 million all-in, which he described as $173 million in hard costs and $50 million in soft costs and contingency.

The recommendation asks the county for $15 million up front and $6 million a year for 20 years, and assumes $2 million a year for 20 years from the city if the city approves it, plus the casino foundation's gift of nearly $100 million over 20 years.

On those contributions and current bonding rates, Elliott said about $62 million remains to be funded, and the recommendation is that the school corporation cover it with existing bonding capacity through its property tax levy.

He said construction costs grow about four and a half percent a year.

When a council member asked whether Option 6.2 raises property taxes, the answer was no.

The same council member said the casino foundation's gift is estimated at $94 million and carries a December 31 deadline for council approval, and asked what the school corporation could do without it; Elliott said the school corporation will have about $160 million of bonding capacity and would have to pick and choose.

Rick Burger, a school board member, said the school corporation has enough to put toward one school without raising taxes, and that if the county does not contribute the board will reevaluate the future of its current schools, including West Vigo High School.

Tim Berry of Crowe said his firm was hired by the oversight board to review the county's finances and test its forward plan.

He said that under Indiana's property-tax levy system, credits for some classes of taxpayers do not mean lost dollars for the county but a shift in which taxpayers pay them, so there is no net loss of revenue.

He said the county's reserves at the end of 2025 are healthy and are projected to stay strong through 2033.

Crowe's estimate uses a $16 million initial payment — Berry noted the recommendation itself says $15 million — and $6 million a year, and Berry said the county would keep reserves near 50 percent of operating costs under that plan.

When Council President Steve Ellis asked whether property owners could see their taxes go up as a result of the shift, Berry said he did not have that answer.

Later, Berry said that if he could guarantee the numbers he would not be standing there.

Answering council questions, Commissioner Clinkenbeard said there is no site yet for the new high school, that it needs to be east of the river, and that the school corporation needs 95 to 130 acres.

He said the commissioners would take both the $15 million and the future $6 million payments out of the county's economic development income tax.

The superintendent said keeping all existing buildings would cost about $100 million more than the proposed plan, that converting Terre Haute North and South to middle schools is estimated at $48 million to $52 million in 2026 dollars, and that the West Vigo renovation is estimated at $90 million to $100 million.

Asked by Ellis about bonding capacity, the superintendent put it at $150 million to $170 million depending on interest rates, using $150 million as the low mark and leaving about $60 million of room after the project.

Asked where the rest of the money comes from, the superintendent said the county's $6 million a year would be bonded, like a mortgage, rather than spent as it arrives.

Elliott said the first step after a funding commitment is releasing the architects to design the schools, which would take at least six months; the best case offered for breaking ground on the East Side high school was 12 to 14 months out.

At the end of the questioning, Clinkenbeard proposed that the commissioners, Elliott, and the superintendent meet with the council's new three-member committee — Ellis, Gentry, and Nancy Alsop — within the next week to answer every question.

Moments earlier Ellis had said he would stand by his position: once the council's questions were answered, it would move forward.

During public comment, one resident said he would vote no because he expected to be taxed either way; another asked the council to approve the oversight board's recommendations and fund new schools; a third, a parent and teacher, said they were firmly opposed to one large high school on the east side and called the claim that it would not raise taxes laughable.