The Fort Wayne Community Schools board election is taking on a new hue this year - or maybe two.

Last year, Write Yellow Right Now fought to bring a $500 million building project to fruition in the district. Code Blue Schools successfully brought it down in a petition drive. Now the leaders of both movements, plus the incumbents and community members who were for and against the project, are going head-to-head for three open seats on the board.

In this nonpartisan race, the lines are still clearly drawn: Incumbent Jon Olinger, former board member Don Schaab and newcomer Lowell Lantz Jr. side with Evert Mol, the leader of Code Blue, while incumbent Steve Corona and former YWCA Executive Director Becky Hill remain on the other side with incumbent John Peirce, leader of Write Yellow.

Another newcomer, Diane Sliger, remains in limbo.

Although it's been about three months since the board was legally able to come back with a new plan, one has yet to come to light. However, on Jan. 1 the new board will not be able to ignore it.

“How long will the systems continue? It's anybody's guess,” FWCS Facilities Director Steve Parker said during a series The News-Sentinel did on the building issue in May.

Most of the candidates agree that failing buildings will affect academic performance. But most were hesitant to put forward specific ideas for a new plan.

♦Steve Corona: “We need to come up with a modest plan to repair them and I emphasize modest.” He favors looking at schools individually and gaining the trust of the community through smaller projects.

♦Don Schaab: “I want to know exactly what each building needs from the bare essentials, and I want it right away. If it was such an emergency two years ago, why isn't it an emergency now?” He would see a cost of no more than $175 million over two to three years.

♦Jon Olinger: “First and foremost, we need to fix the problems. The problem is we don't have enough money in our capital projects fund.” He explained, in his opinion, there was not enough money projected in the fund to maintain the buildings even if they are repaired. He suggested a referendum, like Southwest Allen County Schools' plan to lower class sizes, to get more money into the budget through a vote from local taxpayers.

♦Evert Mol: “Basically, we need to go back to square one. … I doubt they can justify more than a $100 or $150 million project.” He agreed on using a plan such as SACS' referendum, but also wanted an idea that was cost-effective.

♦Lowell Lantz Jr.: “No.1, we need to get a list together of what needs to be repaired right away. (Then) we need to find out why did this just come up that we need this much money.” He wants to use his background in construction to help formulate a plan that is best-suited for the district.

♦John Peirce: “It obviously needs to be much more modest. I think I understand that as well as anyone in the city.” He wants a plan that looks long-term and remembers the needs of teachers and students now and in the future.

♦Diane Sliger: She could not comment, she said.

♦Becky Hill: “I think we need to look at needs rather than wants. … We have to balance those needs with what the community can accept and handle.” She wants to share her own experience working with aging buildings at the YWCA and, in her opinion, how repairs are needed to improve productivity.

The candidates recognized the hard times and said any plan would have to fit the pocketbooks of the taxpayers.

This time around, voters will have more of a say. They will go to the polls for a “yes” or “no” on any project proposed. This change came under House Bill 1001 to give community members more of a say on larger building projects - any kindergarten through eighth-grade building costing more than $10 million and any ninth- through 12th-grade building costing more than $20 million.

Winners of the three open district seats will join board members Kevin Brown, Mark GiaQuinta, Mitch Sheppard and Pamela Martin-Diaz in deciding the future of FWCS' infrastructure - just one issue among many facing a district of 31,400 students.