Now that voters have approved the Jefferson City Public Schools' two high school plan, when can people expect construction to begin, and how involved will the community be in that process?
JCPS Superintendent Larry Linthacum credits the hundreds of meetings he and other district officials conducted with community members in the months leading up to the election as "a contributing factor for why this passed."
Linthacum wants to maintain those lines of communication with the community as the construction on the two high school projects gets going.
"'Stronger together' wasn't just a quote to pass a bond issue," he said. "We want folks to have the same feeling of transparency," and he added, "We want this to be a tipping point" for more positive community relations with the district.
In addition to school board meetings, he said he's working out the details of having a regularly scheduled question-and-answer session for community members on the progress of the high school projects. At minimum, he said he'd always be at those meetings, and other people like the architects would be too, as needed.
He said he's open to exploring locations to host the meetings at places other than the board offices, too. He's looking for a "conversational setting." "It's going to be driven by getting more folks to participate."
As far as a more specific timeline for the construction projects, it's early, but things are happening fast.
Linthacum said he met the day after the election with Architects Alliance to work on getting a more detailed timeline put together.
The most immediate thing that will happen will be receipt of a draw schedule from the architectural firms attached to the projects - Architects Alliance, ACI Boland and DLR Group.
Jason Hoffman, district chief finance officer and chief operating officer, explained a draw schedule details how much money architects will need by which dates to be where they'd like on the scheduled progress of the high schools. Hoffman said the district hopes to receive the draw schedule within a week or so.
He also said the bond underwriter was going to be in town last Friday to tentatively start laying out a more concrete payment schedule on the bonds.
The plan is not to issue all $130 million of bonds right away, Hoffman said. He added the bonds will be structured to have different maturity dates, or the date when the principal must be paid back to the party that purchased the bond from the district.
In terms of the cost to taxpayers, the district's website projects the bond issues will be phased in over the next four years, incrementally increasing the local school tax levy up to the additional $1.10-increased rate approved by voters Tuesday. By December, the rate is projected to increase by 85 cents to $4.5428; it's $3.6928 now.
By December 2018, the tax levy is projected to have increased by $1 to $4.6928, and by December 2020, it will reach the full $4.7928 per $100 of assessed valuation on real estate and personal property like cars and boats.
Like updates on construction once it gets going at the two sites, Linthacum said he wants to be transparent about the process of coming to specific design decisions, too, beyond the general visualizations the public has seen from the architectural renderings.
In addition to board meetings and the community updates he's putting together, he also wants high school teachers and administrators to have additional opportunities to provide feedback to the architects about their needs in a modern building.
He doesn't want there to be any surprises for anyone. "We'll have a master timeline," he said of the construction plans, and if for some reason work falls behind, he and the district will communicate that with the community.
Linthacum said he's been seeking out the input of other superintendents who've gone through the process of building a second high school in their districts, to analyze what worked well and what didn't.
In terms of Simonsen 9th Grade Center's exact fate once the last of its students leave in May 2019, the building coming up on being a century-old could be shut down per the current recommendation, or it might be used by the district in a different way. Linthacum said the answer won't be known for sure until an engineer goes through the building and evaluates its structural integrity.
He also said the processes of developing a mascot and school colors, and selecting a name for the second high school will be taken seriously.
In spite of months and years full of additional, large-scale planning and oversight ahead, Linthacum said he wanted to reassure "our three priorities (as a district) have not changed:" student success; teamwork; and growing and building upon traditions of pride through excellence.
More specifically, he anticipated next year's academic focus priorities will be the same as this year's, outlined in the district's strategic plan: curriculum, instruction and assessment; a more synergetic workplace culture with clear roles and expectations; and getting students to abide by language and conduct expectations. The district's short-term goals are increasing APR scores and attendance, with increasing the graduation rate set as a longer term goal.
TENTATIVE CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE
Source: Jefferson City Public Schools district's website
2017-18
Renovation work at Jefferson City High School at 609 Union St. projected to begin in June. Groundbreaking at site of second high school at Missouri 179 and Mission Drive projected to be late in 2017 or early in 2018. High school students attend at JCHS and Simonsen 9th Grade Center per current arrangements by grade.
2018-19
Second high school under construction. High school students attend at JCHS and Simonsen 9th Grade Center per current arrangements by grade. Last students at Simonsen leave at the end of the school year.
2019-20
Construction at second high school continues, but enough classrooms and the core facilities of gyms, library, cafeteria, etc. are completed to allow for students in grades 9 and 10 to attend there for first time. Grades 9-12 attend at 609 Union St.
2020-21
Second high school has grades 9-11.
2021-22
Both high schools have grades 9-12 in attendance. Construction and renovation work completed at both sites by the start of the school year.