SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In a roll call vote, the Joint Schools Construction Board voted against the construction proposal on the table. It was a vote many thought would have a different outcome.
"Obviously, some people decided to change their vote at the last minute. I mean, I'm totally surprised with this because I thought most of the people were on board with the solution the mayor had put together," said Patrick Hogan, Syracuse Common Councilor.
Under the plan, the Central Tech back building and Fowler High School would be completely renovated. Baseline renovations would be done to both Dr. Weeks and H.W. Smith and minor repairs done to Clary and Shea.
The future remains undecided for many Syracuse school buildings. The Joint Schools Construction Board voted against a construction proposal presented Thursday morning and as our Katie Morse tells us, one school was at the center of that decision.
The reason many board members voted no was because of the Blodgett School, which was not included in the first construction phase. Two point five million dollars was to be set aside for later construction and the board discussed possibly combining Blodgett and Delaware Schools, which some members were not happy about.
"Delaware should not be included in this plan. We need to renovate or rebuild new at Blodgett. It's as simple as that," said Syracuse School Superintendent Daniel Lowengard.
Mayor Matt Driscoll seemed to think everyone agreed to the plan before Thursday's meeting and was surprised at the vote's outcome.
"The very things that the school board and the superintendent argued for, in particular Central Tech, they voted against today," said Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll. "We'll have to revisit this, but quite candidly, I think the folks that voted no today showed a real lack of leadership."
The board will meet again in two weeks. Driscoll says without a decision soon, the joint construction board is in danger of losing $4 million of taxpayer money set aside for the project.