Waitsburg Schools to Run Smaller Bond Levy

School board responds to survey results by dropping capital improvements bond by $1 million

WAITSBURG - A $4.8 million Waitsburg School District capital improvements bond fell a mere 13 votes shy of reaching the required 60-percent supermajority vote needed for passage in February. The Waitsburg School Board returned to the drawing board, sought additional community input, and will drop two projects – at a reduction of $1 million – and re-run the bond in November.

At June’s regular meeting, the board decided to mail out surveys soliciting feedback to determine which projects the community would most strongly support. District Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke said that 141 of the approximately 750 distributed surveys were returned.

The board reviewed the results at their July 13 meeting. Of the returned surveys, 34 showed support for all of the projects, 103 supported some of the projects, and three said they would support no capital improvement projects.

The original bond requested $4.8 million for the following projects: upgrade HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) in the elementary, Preston Hall and WHS ($2.4-$2.9 million); comprehensive remodel of the district kitchen ($660,000 - $940,000); construction of a field house at the athletic field ($510,000); high school parking lot improvements ($525,000); and the installation of a 6-lane all-weather track and improvement of field amenities ($700,000 - $950,000).

The survey results showed non-support for each project as follows: Upgrade HVAC, 20.6%; kitchen remodel, 22%; field house construction, 34.8%; parking lot improvements, 58.2%, and new track, 51.8%.

“Going on numbers alone, if we ran each individually, three would make it through the bond with a 60% vote – HVAC, the kitchen, and the field house. That’s one way of looking at it,” said Clarke.

Clarke said she was pleased with the number of comments submitted with the survey even if she and the board disagreed with many. “At least the comments help us see where the misunderstandings are. It’s very clear that there is a divided community,” Clarke said.

“The responses are interesting. We’ve hashed out all the questions they’ve asked but there is apparently a big group that hasn’t heard. How do we reach them?” said board member Christy House.

General survey comments ranged from very supportive to highly unsupportive.

“Prior to moving to this community we researched the schools and the community student support. We’ve never been sorry and will always vote yes,” said one respondent.

“Regarding the capital projects bond, I feel that the project monies requested is a result of poor management of the community’s educational needs. Some of these proposed projects should have been done over the course of the last several years. These problems did not appear overnight. Maybe less money should be spent on athletics and more on the maintenance of facilities. The taxpayers deserve better objective planning and accountability,” said another respondent.

Board chair Ross Hamann spoke to the district’s stewardship saying, “We have been prudent and paid off bonds early, we’ve taken advantage of opportunities to refinance them to get to this point earlier than thought. We’ve saved the taxpayers a lot of money.”

Several comments urged the district to explore alternatives such as hiring a caterer as opposed to upgrading the kitchen, starting and ending the school year earlier to alleviate the need for air conditioning, and combining with Dayton for track & field to eliminate the need for an all-weather track.

The majority of the comments regarding the two items receiving the least support – installation of an all-weather track and parking lot upgrades – centered on the dollar amounts allotted to the projects.

“I will not support something that costs this much and needs to be redone in 10 to 15 years,” said one respondent, regarding the track.

“I would support this if the projected cost was not so inflated,” said one respondent commenting on the parking lot upgrades.

“Contracting a grader to maintain the gravel surface several times a year would be more economical. Asphalt needs to be maintained, too. Way more expensive,” said another, about the parking lot.

Board members commented that the high school parking lot has become a safety issue and will have to be addressed in some way, regardless of whether or not it is included on the capital projects bond.

After reviewing survey comments the board directed Clarke to draft a resolution for a revised $3.8 million capital projects bond to include HVAC upgrades, a kitchen remodel, and the construction of a field house.

“I can’t see why this wouldn’t be acceptable to the voters if we’re lowering the amounts and following their guidance,” said board member Randy Pearson.

The board will hold a special budget hearing at 7 p.m. on July 27 in the Preston Hall Boardroom. At that time, the board will also vote on the capital projects bond resolution and a budget extension. If approved, the bond will go before voters in the Nov. 8 election.

Survey results, complete with all comments, can be found at http://www.waitsburgsd.org.