JCPS Board leans toward parsing projects into separate bond issues

Jefferson City High School students change classes for the first time in this 2015-16 school year.
Jefferson City High School students change classes for the first time in this 2015-16 school year.
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School board members batted around possibilities for a Jefferson City Public Schools bond issue on Monday, and while they didn't have definitive ideas as to what should run when, conversations steered toward parsing the project into pieces.

The Long Range Planning Committee recommended the district build an elementary school on the east end, renovate Callaway Hills Elementary School, build a new high school, renovate the existing high school and redraw boundary lines, but it didn't specify which piece should be put on the ballot first or if the projects should be bundled together and run all at once.

They also recently added that the middle schools need to be revisited because those buildings are squeezed for space as well.

Board member Lorelei Schwartz, who is a member of the committee, said the committee was divided on which aspect was the most pressing. The group that investigated elementary needs thought a new elementary school should be top priority, while the group that investigated secondary needs felt the high school was the main concern.

"That's why we put all five up there and said, 'Here's what we think,'" Schwartz said.

The board members were also uncertain which piece should be addressed first. Each option has pros and cons.

The elementary schools are nearly at or are above capacity, and some of the schools use trailers. But the projected enrollment is expected to peak next school year and level out around 2022-23, Hoffman said. The elementary level has been a big concern because of an unexpectedly large kindergarten class in 2009, when the enrollment jumped to 730 from 652, he said.

The kindergarten classes have fluctuated up and down since then, but the numbers are starting to level out, according to enrollment projections Hoffman presented Monday.

Those kindergarten classes, starting with 2009, are moving through the school system, creating an even larger need to build a new high school, Hoffman said.

Board members talked about redrawing boundary lines to deflate some of the overcrowding - a very unpopular solution - and they'd likely have to do that somewhat regularly to alleviate stress at the schools.

But board President John Ruth said it would be difficult to redraw the boundary lines in a way equitable to all the schools, so building a new elementary school is still necessary.

A new elementary school is less costly than a new high school, so it may be more desirable to voters, he said, and the board may be able to get that on the ballot sooner than the high school.

On the other side, there's an ever-growing need for more space at the high school level. But with the cost at more than $140 million to build a new school and renovate the current one, board members said that option might be harder for voters to stomach right now.

Therein lies the issue: What does the district need most, and how willing is the public to pay for it?

In summation, the board members decided April was too soon to try and pass a bond issue for the high school. April is the only month the district needs a four-sevenths vote to pass it. In August and November, it needs a greater majority of two-thirds.

So that pushes the potential date to 2018, at the earliest, to put the high school on the ballot, giving them a year to meet with the community and devise a clearer plan.

"It's an ongoing conversation within the community that has to be done," board Vice President Steve Bruce said. "It has to be methodical. It has to be done almost on a retail basis to have a more personal discussion. When you go and talk to other districts about large issues they've done in the past, they've been in people's living rooms. They've taken the circus on the road. They're conversations you've had over a longer period of time."

Then, the conversation turned to whether the district could put anything on the April ballot.

For some time, the district has been considering asking voters to forgo the current Proposition C rollback so the district can collect all of the money it is allocated by the state.

Proposition C is a statewide sales tax collected partially for public schools. The state allocates the money to every district, and the majority collect all of the money. JCPS is one of 38 districts that roll back half of that money to local taxpayers, which keeps taxes lower.

The district receives $8 million each year from the state and rolls back $4 million to local taxpayers. The additional $4 million would be a great resource, the board agreed. 

It would come at a 32 cent tax increase per $100 of assessed valuation, Hoffman said.

Districts have been underfunded by the state for years, and the state hasn't made a concerted effort to make up the shortfall, Ruth said. 

The Legislature passed a bill this spring capping the foundation formula to keep it from growing out of control, making it possible for them to fully fund the formula sooner at a smaller dollar amount.

Ruth said it's put more pressure on local communities to support the schools.

"What other districts have been faster to do is recognize Proposition C is one way to make up the shortfall in state funding," he said.

Asking taxpayers to forgo the rollback was a strong potential option for the spring ballot.

Hoffman said teachers have expressed many needs, including more textbooks and technology, and the district doesn't have the budget to fulfill them all.

Several expressed Proposition C is an obvious way to increase revenue and start checking items off teachers' needs lists.

"It's very much going to be a tax increase," Bruce said. "I don't think we need to worry about wordsmithing that at all."

"I think we have to be frank about our needs," he added. "If we join the 93 percent of districts that do this, then we should be very clear about what the money will go toward."

Schwartz said it's been difficult for the district to come up with a plan to fund some necessary items, like technology, because there's never been room in the budget. But if the additional revenue from Proposition C were available, it would help.

She said she'd like to get a list from staff about what they need and then present that to the public so they can clearly see what the money would be used for.

"Our main objective is to educate kids, and if we get more money, here's how we can do that better," she said, referring to the list of needs.

Ruth said the meeting developed some good discussion, but the board hasn't committed to anything yet in regards to a bond issue. It's possible the board could decide to put an additional school or renovation on the 2017 ballot, but that's something they'll have to talk through further.

Members agreed they wanted more feedback from the public. Once they receive updated figures on class sizes and project costs, they will come up with a list of projects and when they would like them to run.