Guest Column: Columbia school bond issue on April's municipal ballot

Laura Turner has had one of her four daughters in Columbia Public Schools for the past 16 years. With her youngest two daughters currently attending Hickman High School, Turner has two years left in her relationship with the school system. Although she is a hands-on mom and perennial parent volunteer, she was unaware of the upcoming bond issue and is struggling with whether to support it.
“I thought we already voted on the new high school,” Turner said, echoing the concerns of many voters who didn’t fully understand the three-pronged nature of the 2007 bond issue.
The current 2010 bond issue refigures and combines what were to have been the second and third parts of a three-part bond, the first of which successfully passed in 2007. The upcoming $120 million bond will appear on the April 6 municipal ballot.
According to Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Chris Belcher, the bulk of the money will be spent on the new high school in the northeast edge of the city, a potential new elementary school and major repairs and maintenance to the system’s oldest schools.
“Virtually every building will be touched by this proposal,” Belcher said. “Right now, when it rains in Columbia, it is leaking all over the district.” New roofs, and the warranties that come with them, are a high priority for Belcher. “Why would we want to put new technology or equipment in rooms that leak? Fix the roofs first.”
In addition to roof repairs, other maintenance projects include upgrading HVAC systems, installing air conditioning at schools still without it and adding auxiliary gyms at Rock Bridge and Hickman.
“We are working toward maintaining equity among the schools through upkeep,” said School Board Vice-President Tom Rose, who is also chair of the board’s Finance and Long-Range Facility Planning committees.
In addition to asking for bricks and mortar, the district is also reconfiguring the grade levels and attendance areas of some schools. However, the reconfiguration can only work if Columbia has three rather than two high schools. “To pull this off, we have to build a third high school,” Rose said.
The new configuration will not change the grade levels attending Columbia’s elementary schools. However, the three current middle schools will become “intermediate schools,” as will the three junior highs. So there will be six intermediate schools for grades six, seven and eight. The six intermediate schools will then feed the three high schools that will house students in grades nine through 12.
Feedback from parents, said Belcher, speaks directly to the reorganization plan. “Parents want fewer transitions among schools,” he said. Rose confirmed and added that the six intermediate schools will also decrease current overcrowding in the middle and junior high schools.
The best news for mid-Missouri voters is that the April bond issue does not require any new taxation but is a continuation of the current tax. “Instead of paying off our debit service earlier, we’ll be paying it off later,” Belcher said.
Like Turner, new home owners Kris and Blair Mitchell vote regularly and generally support school bond issues but were unaware of the April bond issue. Although they don’t have children yet, Blair Mitchell said neighborhood schools were an important factor in where they decided to build their new home.
“One of the reasons we built where we did is due to the quality of the schools,” she said. “It is very important to us.”
Upon learning that the new bond issue would not raise taxes, Blair Mitchell said: “If a bond issue raises taxes to help schools, I am generally open to it. If the money is promised but not followed through with, I’m less likely to be supportive of the raise on future issues.”
Both Rose and Belcher are adamant that the current plan saves significant amounts of money from the previously pitched three-phase plan. “We’re going to save 5 percent on the architects’ fees alone by having them do all the work at once rather than in three phases,” Belcher said.
“It just makes more sense to build a building all at once,” Belcher said. “The cost of moving and removing equipment, putting up and tearing down walls, changes in finishes over the years.” The board estimates a savings of at least $7.5 million.
According to Belcher, the new high school will be completed 30 months after the April 2010 election and ready for students by fall 2013. With the construction occurring all at once, so will the reconfiguration, also in fall 2013.
Belcher said the grade reconfiguration, especially for the high schools, will save parents the hassle of having a ninth-grader attending a junior high but involved in activities at a high school.
Building the new high school should also help reduce the number of trailers huddled around Columbia’s school buildings, according to Rose, and will reduce that number from the current 164 to around 110, maybe fewer. “Right now 20 percent of our students are receiving their education in trailers,” Belcher said.
Belcher is confident the bond issue will pass, and anticipated high voter turnout in April’s election improves its chances. The open seat for the Columbia mayoral race will draw more voters than in most years. Rose, too, believes that people will vote for this proposal, as it is basically what they approved before.
“The main thing to be aware of is the continuation of what voters fully supported three years ago, which was a reconfiguration of the secondary grade system and a new high school,” Rose said.
Although wary of the bond issue, Turner concluded, “I guess I’ll vote for it as long as I don’t have to give them any more money.” ϖ
Reprinted from Columbia Home & Lifestyle
10 Things you Need To KNow About the Bond Issue

1. It won’t raise your taxes.
2. It reduces the number of transitions among schools from four to three.
3. The number of trailers will decrease from 164 to 110, potentially fewer.
4. It puts a priority on upgrading old buildings and works toward equity among all buildings.
5. Elementary school will be for grades K – 5, intermediate school for 6 – 8 and high school for 9 – 12.
6. The new high school and all the grade configurations will occur in fall 2013.
7. Auxiliary gymnasiums will be added to Rock Bridge and Hickman.
8. All schools will be equipped with air conditioning.
9. Another elementary school might be built.
10. Some new technology will be purchased.

Interested voters may access the following resources to gather more information on the bond issue:
• www.columbia.k12.mo.us: You can sign up for the free electronic newsletter, “Key News,” for the latest district news and event information. Click on “Key News” on the district’s home page to register.
• If anyone has questions, comments or would like a representative from the school to meet with you or a civic group regarding the bond issues, contact the main board office at 214-3400, or contact the Community Relations Office at 214-3960.