Airport Wants School Property
But the School Board -- facing a fiscal deficit -- wants $3.75 million for the land. That's terribly unrealistic, even if the schools would choose to preserve the land and include it in its curriculum.
The School Board now is taking the insanity to a new level by spending $30,000 on an appraisal. It would appear the School Board knows acquisition of the land is vital is the Airport Authority, and as a result is demanding an outrageous price.
Litigating the matter isn't the answer. That will be the case if the two sides can't agree and the city proceeds with eminent domain, as it threatened last week.
We hope Mayor Rudy Clay steps in, brings the two sides to the table and issues the following mandate: Don't leave the room until you have settled the matter.
What is good for the airport is good for the city of Gary, including the schools. The airport remains the city's greatest hope for the future. Further delays would be unconscionable.
Often, we need to have the judicial system intervene on behalf of two behemoths, such as a city and an airport. The Gary, Indiana situation above is not an exception. The dispute involved federal funds to acquire land versus individual community vested tax dollars. In the case of education funding, the tax dollars are usually derived from real estate assessments. The Gary newspaper is simply way off base!
