SCHERERVILLE | David Dixon firmly believes a second high school for the Lake Central School Corp. would never work, even if it cost nothing.

Dixon, a Dyer resident, speaks from experience as the former superintendent for the School City of Hammond. He retired from Hammond in 2002 after working for 18 years in the school district, which has four high schools and a career center.

"Even if the state of Indiana came in and said ‘We'll build it for free,' you couldn't afford to replicate your current programs," Dixon said at Lake Central's second referendum task force meeting.

"First, there's no way your general fund could support the staff. Second, the curriculum is what we need to talk about. We can't deny students in one building something we offer in the other. No way. It won't work. It's not a good idea."

Lake Central Superintendent Gerald Chabot offered the task force new calculations showing it would cost $3.6 million per year to operate a second facility. To do that, the district would have to cut current high school programs and increase class size.

Parent Amy Bogenrief agreed it's a challenge and believes some people aren't thinking about potential conflicts inherent in a "north/south" or "east/west" facility configuration similar to school districts in Illinois.

"It could be very ugly," she said. "Having people jumping lines. There's an emotional part people need to be aware of."

Kay Trapp was the district's business manager for 30 years and asked opponents if they've actually seen the work done so far.

"I ask if they've paid attention to what's being accomplished rather than just thinking of the dollar sign," Trapp said.

Many people are very supportive of the idea of using the property on Blaine Street as a vocational center, she added.

Chabot reminded listeners that a diversity of opinion is welcomed. "We need to honor the individual viewpoints," he said.

"We may agree or disagree, but we have to be respectful. I sense an increase in passion and rigor. We have to look to the future and what's in the best interests of our students and community."

Kerry Leonard, an architect with OWP/P Architects Inc., said while renovations would increase student capacity to 3,500 students, designers have built flexibility into their model.

The high school could easily fit 200 more with minor changes in class scheduling.

Architect Teri Wright said student safety during construction is imperative.

"The project will be done in bits and pieces, so curriculum and programs continue without disruption," she said. "It would've been easy to turn contractors loose and get it done in two years."

Chabot said plans will be implemented for safety and noise. "It can be done. ... I personally watched it happen. I predict our kids would handle it fine."