By Jason Michael White, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer

Center Grove is postponing plans for a new academy at the high school, but school officials are considering spending about $1.97 million to renovate space for the academy anyway.

The school board voted 5-0 to postpone plans to start New Tech Academy at the high school in the fall because of concerns about the timing of the new program. School staff and teachers are uncertain about $3.6 million in budget cuts and possible staff and teacher layoffs.

Center Grove High School Principal Matt Shockley recommended that the board postpone New Tech until issues facing the school district are resolved. What's unclear is how long the academy will be postponed, whether until the 2011-12 school year or later.

Construction still might happen in the fall because the district already has borrowed money for the project, Assistant Superintendent Janet Boyle said.

The district's chief financial officer, Paul Gabriel, is investigating possible penalties for canceling construction plans, and he will let the board know what he finds out, she said.

Board member John Steed asked administrators to give their word that construction wouldn't start while the board was waiting to hear from Gabriel.

"I don't want to see this thing started in the next couple weeks," he said.

The board's vote to stall New Tech is a reversal from a decision made last month to let the academy proceed. During the past few weeks, board members have heard from more and more concerned residents and staff, and it became clear New Tech should be postponed, board president Scott Gudeman said.

New Tech had a lack of support from the district's teachers, and the board did not want to put students in jeopardy by enrolling them in a program that was not ready, he said.

"It's clearly not the right time," he said.

Teachers and students were notified this week that New Tech would be canceled, before the board made a decision.

Students already had applied for the academy. High school teachers and administrators spent the past month visiting the district's middle schools to speak about the program; and the district had organized public meetings to speak to parents and students about New Tech.

In December, the district borrowed $1.97 million to pay for the project, and school officials might have to pay a cancellation fee if they cancel the bond, Boyle said. The cancellation fee likely would come from the general fund used for salaries and utilities, which is where the district is having to cut about $3.6 million.

Assistant Superintendent Bill Long told Steed that construction will not begin yet and that the district has not hired contractors to start the work.

However, architects have completed floor plans. The district hired Indianapolis-based CSO Architects to design renovations to the English wing of the high school to make room for New Tech. The company is to be paid between 4.74 percent and 6 percent of the construction cost. The construction cost was estimated at $877,380, with expenses such as legal fees, furniture, and lab equipment making up the rest of the cost.

Plans called converting 11 classrooms into four learning studios, each about the size of two typical classrooms with space for about 50 students.

Board members initially favored New Tech because the program was not to cost the school district any additional money from its general fund.

The district did not plan to hire any new teachers or administrators for the program; and even though the cost of starting New Tech is about $450,000, the district planned to cover the cost with grants, not general fund dollars.

Center Grove had set aside about $125,000 in its rainy-day fund that could have been used for New Tech, but school officials did not expect the entire amount to be needed. The state was negotiating for discounts for New Tech, which would have saved Center Grove about $100,000 in fees.