Beaumont Heritage Society v. BISD goes to the judge

Testimony has ended in a trial that will determine the fate of South Park Middle School.  Judge Bob Wortham has taken the case under advisement.

The two sides involved in the trial to determine the fate of South Park Middle School disagreed Tuesday about the comparative costs of renovating the school and rebuilding.

The Beaumont Heritage Society is seeking a Permanent Injunction to prevent the Beaumont Independent School District from demolishing the building.  The group says the building has historic significance and it wants to preserve the structure, although it's not mandating the building be used as a school.

Sina Nejad, a Beaumont engineer, testified for the plaintiffs Tuesday morning. He described his inspection of South Park Middle School and said it would cost $18 million, at most, to renovate and add on, based on Texas Education Agency standards.  In that estimation, Nejad said he based his figures on the square footage he measured, which was about a thousand square feet more than the district said.  But an attorney for BISD said the engineer didn't take all TEA guidelines into account in reaching his estimation, not BISD's higher standards. 

An expert testifying for BISD said it would cost $35 million to renovate and add on with BISD's requirements, but without landscaping.  However, that expert could only testify as a construction manager because, as the attorney for the Beaumont Heritage Society pointed out, he is not a registered engineer in Texas.

The district's bond website says the budget to demolish the old school and build a new one is $33 million. 

In closing arguments, plaintiffs' attorney Mike Getz said there is a lot at stake in this case, but mostly the public's trust in the school district.  Getz maintained that the district did promise voters South Park would not be torn down and said how the district was handling the controversy before the lawsuit was not how to do business or establish trust.  He continued by saying the building can be renovated for less than the rebuilding cost.  Getz said, "The board is supposed to be good stewards of our tax dollars, and this is not the way to do it."

He finished by saying, "the case cries out for a creative remedy," and his is for the judge to enjoin the district until a special election is called for district voters to decide on South Park once and for all. 

BISD attorney Melody Chappel said the students and the voters are the only victims of the situation.  She said the board, alone, is to decide cost-effectiveness and the importance of buildings.  She finished saying the solution is board elections, where voters can address their elected officials if they're unhappy because "only the board can bind the district."

Monday (9/21/09) story - 

BEAUMONT - The former communications director in the Beaumont Independent School District testifed the superintendent, Dr. Carrol Thomas, told her the district wasn't going to tear down South Park Middle School.

Jolene Ortego, former executive director of communications in BISD, testified on the first day of a trial to determine if BISD can demolish the South Park school building to construct a new campus. 

Judge Bob Wortham will decide whether to grant a Permanent Injunction to the Beaumont Heritage Society, which wants to preserve the building in some way although the Heritage Society isn't demanding the district continue using it as a school.

Ortego testified about a publication the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce was preparing prior to the $389 million dollar bond issue.  The chamber wanted to include the status of the school in its publication examining the proposed bond issue projects.  Monday, Ortego testified that when she asked Dr. Thomas to provide an answer to the publication about the status of the South Park building, he told her "We're not going to tear it down.  I don't know what we're doing yet."  Ortego testified all information in the Chamber's bond issue pamphlet came from BISD.

Monday afternoon, board president Woodrow Reece testified Dr. Thomas didn't have the authority to provide the information to Ortego for the Chamber's bond issue pamphlet.  He also stated he believed Thomas' previous testimony that he did not provide that information to Ortego.

Reece says the public should have realized that any new school would require demolition of an old school in its place.

Reece also testified administrators violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by knocking down schools and doing bond work without board approval.  He testified the district was heading in the same direction with South Park Middle School.  However, on cross-examination, he recanted that statement, saying he thought he was being questioned about the board, because the administration staff isn't held by the law.

Co-chairman of the Community Advisory Bond Committee, Dr. David Teuscher, testified there was never any talk or writing about demoliting South Park during the bond development process.  He feels the best resolution would be to put out a bid for a renovation project to get an accurate figure to compare to the cost of demolition.

Lastly, attorney for the Beaumont Heritage Society, Mike Getz, informed the court he'd be asking for a special election for Beaumont citizens to decide on the South Park issue alone.  While on the stand, Teuscher said he doesn't agree with that idea.

On Friday, September 18, the Ninth Court of Appeals upheld State District Judge Bob Wortham's Temporary Injunction preventing the Beaumont ISD from demolishing the South Park school building.

The decision cleared the way for a September 21 trial during which Judge Wortham will decide whether to grant a Permanent Injunction.

(Click here to read the entire Temporary Injunction)

Judge Wortham granted the Temporary Injunction August 3 to the Beaumont Heritage Society.

Darlene Chodzinkski, Executive Director of the Heritage Society, has said the organization isn't demanding the building remain open as a school. She has told us the primary focus is to prevent the district from tearing down the building due to what she called its historic significance. It was built in 1922.

Attorney Michael Getz represents the Heritage Society. He said the district could remodel South Park Middle School more cheaply than it could build a new school based on costs associated with the $389 million bond issue.

Attorney Melody Chappell represents BISD. She said the district, and not a court, is in the best position to determine what's best for students. The district said it's following the wishes of voters in deciding to build a new school at the site.

In his ruling, Judge Wortham said testimony indicated that prior to the 2007 bond election the Beaumont Independent School District pledged not to demolish South Park Middle School if the bond issue passed.  According to Wortham's ruling, the staement was intended by Defendants to cause, and did cause, the bond election to carry.  In his ruling, Wortham states the Defendants arbitrarily abandoned the promise to voters. 

Stay with KFDM for the latest on the trial.