LAKEVILLE — Tempers flared again Tuesday night over a controversial school construction project in the Union North School Corporation. Opponents say the corporation is already spending taxpayer money on a project that could still be turned down.

Last Friday, the school corporation won a petition drive over a controversial plan to build a new LaVille Intermediate School and renovate the existing elementary and junior-senior high school buildings.

1,781 people signed a petition in support of the plan. 1,313 signed one opposing it, but that hasn't settled the argument over whether or not to move forward with the $19.6 million plan.

Ground can't be broken on it until Indiana's Department of Local Government Finance gives it a green light. Some say, not a single penny should be spent on it until that happens.

They weren't shy about speaking up about it during Tuesday's regular board meeting.

More than a half dozen people stood to address the board, asking "why the hurry" or "what's the rush."

Some even asked the board to step back and delay the project from moving forward until all the loose ends were tied up.

After school board members accepted the petition results, they took two unanimous 5-0 votes. One authorized a contract with the architectural firm Hebard & Hebard. The other authorizes that firm to begin work on "phase one" of the project.

Architect Ken Hebard told the board and the crowd of more than 50 people, that phase one will include things like preliminary engineering and site plans, at a cost of no more than $156,000.

But because those votes come before the DLGF has even considered approval of the project, some call the board's moves "irresponsible." If the DLGF says "no," the school corporation would have no choice but to delay the project for at least a year, and start from scratch again next year.

The $156,000 fee would not be refunded.

"I don't believe they should've spent any money until they know for sure," said Pam Urbanski, who has two children attending LaVille Schools.

"They shouldn't be wasting taxpayer money before they know if it's going to pass," agreed George Moffett, an outspoken critic of the project from the start. "The DLGF has turned down every project that's came before it for the last three months."

School board members don't dispute that, but say the project can't move forward without the plans in place.

"They have to understand and see what we plan to do. You don't go in with a hand drawn schematic to a group of people who are going to make or break you," said Ort.

And Ort is convinced the project will move forward, for several simple reasons:

"We won the remonstrance, the petition drive. We have a need for space. We have no debt. Now, if [DLGF] wants to turn us down, they have to live with that on their conscience," said Ort.

His call now is for unity, and he made a plea to those at Tuesday's meeting to come together for the good of students.

But even with all the signatures in, it's a call that may go unheard. Both sides say the fight isn't over yet.

"A person should always fight for what they believe in," said Moffett.

That fight will go before the DLGF on July 17.