The passing of one of our students this past week has put things in perspective for our school family. It reminds all of us to be thankful for the small things and to remember to tell our friends and family that we love them. We would like to again convey our sincere condolences to the Branson family.
The Board of Education meeting on April 17 saw several parents come to address the board concerning the recent bond issue. These parents spoke about the safety of the students and how important it is to this community to pass the bond issue and address the building concerns. One of the attendees was a grandparent who was very demonstrative in his concern about how vulnerable our children are in the elementary and high school. It is only in these two buildings where children walk in and out of buildings and in unsecured areas on a regular basis. Each of the parents emphasized that today’s society is far different than the society of 20 years ago and making our buildings safer for students is important. The Board hosted a meeting on April 29th to hear more people and to analyze survey results from parents, staff and school patrons. As we move forward there are several facts that I would like to take some time to reiterate with the public.
1. This bond issue will not increase the amount of taxes that patrons current pay, but will add 7 years to the repayment schedule. The current bonds are slated to be paid back in 2021 and the new bonds will stretch that schedule to 2028.
2. This bond issue will enclose the walkways at the elementary school which will more effectively control public access to the students. EVERYONE will enter the building through one door and be admitted to the rest of the building from that point. Other outside doors will be kept locked. Teachers will be able to use other exits in the case of fire or other legitimate reasons to exit the buildings. Note: Each building has a warning system to alert teachers if there is a reason to have a controlled exit from the building.
3. This bond issue will move the high school out to the current middle school site. All students will be on the controlled access campus. Strict monitoring of student traffic will be enforced. This will eliminate the mixture of student traffic with young children.
4. All school districts in the State of Missouri are held to a very rigid standard of assessing how much money can be borrowed at any one time. It is based on the district’s individual property tax assessments. The reason that a high school was not built in 2001 was because this district did not have enough bonding capacity. However, the 2001 ballot clearly stated that the bonds were to build a middle school which would be convertible to a high school when funds became available. In other words, the district could not borrow enough money to complete the high school project in 2001.
5. Our students are our #1 concern. This bond issue will not affect salaries or any other budget concern. It will not pay for utilities, transportation or other general funding issues – only the building.
6. The Board of Education typically meets each third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend these meetings and learn more about the inner workings of our school district.
St. James, Mo. —
