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At least a few northeast St. Joseph residents are fighting against the elementary school proposed for their neighborhood.

They say the St. Joseph School District’s plan for an elementary school off Karnes Road between Woodbine and Leonard roads has too high of a price tag, has not involved enough public input and would bring a dangerous traffic load. They also worry about road widening cutting into their property.

“This whole plan is a train that’s going downhill fast with no brakes,” neighbor Mona Marshall said. “I do agree that a new school is needed. This just isn’t the right location.”

Rick Hartigan, the district’s chief operating officer, said he’s not aware of another piece of property that fits the district’s criteria in terms of size, price, location and needs such as sewer access.

“We’ve said that this piece of property will work,” Mr. Hartigan said. “And now we’re asking, ‘Who has a better idea?’ And nothing has come forward that has met our criteria.”

Ms. Marshall, who lives across Karnes in the Carriage Oaks subdivision, spoke against the school site last Monday during the district’s Board of Education meeting. She plans to take her opposition and some fellow neighbors to Thursday’s City Planning Commission meeting to ask commissioners to table a recommendation to the City Council on whether the school can go on the site. The council will have the final say on the issue.

Photo by Jessica Stewart / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Mona Marshall is opposed to the St. Joseph School District’s proposed east side school site. She says there are many reasons why this property isn’t suitable for a school. One concern she expressed was that the salvage yard to the west of the property may have contaminated the water and ground through runoff.

The school district is asking for a conditional use permit, which would allow the school on the residentially zoned land.

If the city gives the district the green light, the district plans to purchase the land and build a school to serve the increasing student population in the northeast part of the city.

Board members plan to approve the purchase of the property if the site clears the city hurdle. If voters next April approve the district’s $43 million school construction plan, the $18.3 million east school will be built within the next few years.

If voters reject the plan, the district will hang onto the land until funding for the school exists.

“The need for a school in that neighborhood will not go away. Whether it is this election or this administration or my child’s generation, at some point and time, a school needs to be built in that neighborhood,” Mr. Hartigan said.

The district has a $395,000 contract with Robert Warden to buy his 1,893-square-foot home at 4214 Karnes Road, which sits on 10 acres. Business partners Reed Kline and Howard Miller plan to donate the 5 acres they own behind Mr. Warden’s property to the district.

A district-funded appraisal put the 10 acres at $350,000.

The district would use money in its $30 million operating budget reserve to purchase the property. The 5-year, 63-cent property tax that voters approved in 2004 helped the district build up the reserve, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the district’s operating budget.

By law, the operating reserve cannot be used for capital projects such as school construction.

The district plans to ask voters to renew that tax next April in addition to asking voters to approve a 4.5 percent property tax increase for the $43 million plan.

Ms. Marshall, who points out that she was the senior buyer for the University of Texas in the past, criticized the district’s decision to not put out a request for bids before deciding on the proposed property.

Instead, the district sought out the advice of local real estate, business and city leaders more than a year ago. The proposal was revealed publicly in February.

“This has all been secret and decided behind closed doors,” Ms. Marshall said.

Mr. Hartigan referred to the at least 90 days between the February unveiling and the vote to purchase the property as a “quasi-bidding process.” The district is open to public input and ideas for alternative sites at this time, he said.

About $1.5 million of the more than $18 million planned for the school would fund site development and road improvements, including widening, in front of the school.

It would cost the city $2.7 million to make additional road improvements along roads near the school. The city has yet to identify funding for those projects.

Ms. Marshall wants the district to find land where those site and road improvements would be less costly and extensive.

She also takes issue with the two ponds on the site. The district will fence in one of the ponds, a retention pond, so she said she thinks that’s a waste of the less than one acre area. The district will fill in the other pond to put the parking lot on top of it — a move she thinks is costly and could cause drainage issues.

Mr. Hartigan said the price tag is reasonable, drainage will be fine and that the retention pond is a non-issue because the water will have to go somewhere no matter what.

Some homeowners along Karnes, including Carol Pierce, worry that part of their property will turn into road with the widening. Those details wouldn’t be official until the district has funding to start building the school. Ms. Pierce also worries about safety if school traffic hits the narrow roads before the city improves the roads.

Nancy Hull can be reached at nancyhull@npgco.com.