Voters asked to support $15 million bond for new elementary school

     The Monticello Community School District (MCSD) is asking voters to support a $15 million GO (general obligation) bond on Tuesday, Nov. 5 “that will fund the construction of a new elementary school to replace the two existing elementary schools.” The new 65,000 square foot facility will be added onto the current middle school (MS) to create a central campus for the MCSD, PreK-12.

   The overall project is expected to cost $26.5 million. Aside from the $15 million GO bond, the district will also use $10 million from a sales tax revenue bond and $1 million to $1.5 million in dedicated facility cash reserves.

   In 2018, the community overwhelming supported the construction of a new MS with almost 71 percent in favor.

   The Nov. 5 bond vote requires a super majority vote to pass, meaning 60 percent plus one vote.

   “If it’s going to save the taxpayers $1 million, it’s worth putting it out there now,” offered MCSD Superintendent Dr. Brian Jaeger.

   The $15 million GO bond will cost taxpayers $1.10 per $1,000 of net taxable value.

   “I want people to know that we have tried to do our due diligence to use and save our penny sales tax dollars so that we can put it towards this and not have to ask the taxpayers for as much money,” offered Jaeger.

   Jaeger used the net taxable value of his home here in Monticello as an example… The net taxable value of his home is around $130,548.

   “If I took $1.10 per $1,000 of my net taxable value, my property tax increase would be about $143.60 annually,” he said. “Split that in half, because I pay taxes twice a year, it’s just over $70 every six months. If I looked at it monthly, I’d be paying an additional $11.97 per month.”

   If you broke it down even further, it’d be 37 cents a day.

   “Think about what else can you buy for 37 cents out there in the world today?” asked Jaeger.

   Right now, the MS loan is due to be paid off in 2038. If the elementary bond passes, the two bonds would be restructured and only nine years would be added to the school district’s debt.

   “Instead of paying the MS off alone in 2038, we’ll pay through 2047 and we’ll have both paid off. That seems to be a really good way to look at this,” said Jaeger.

   Many people have asked by the MCSD can’t wait until the MS is paid off to go after another bond. Jaeger said each year they hold off on the project, the cost will increase $1 million per year.

   “That’s 14 years,” he said. “I’m going to assume it is going to go up $14 million. Instead of a $26 million project, we’re paying $40 million for this project. $40 million for one elementary school is more than we paid for everything else in this district together. As a taxpayer, that would be incredibly irresponsible to try and wait so long and those costs would just rise.”

   The high school (HS) cost $9.8 million in the ‘90s. The new MS was $22 million.

   In 2018 when the bond was proposed for the MS, the district asked taxpayers to support a $15 million bond as well. However, due to lower property valuations, taxpayers saw an additional $2.75 per $1,000.

   Some have asked why the district can’t just renovate the two elementary schools versus build brand new. Jaeger asked OPN Architects the same question.

   “If we were to build an addition onto Shannon with the big lot out there, we could do that,” he said. “But it would cost $1.5 million more than building a new elementary school. We could take two old buildings and end up with the same cost as a new building, or put an addition onto one of the two buildings, which would cost us more.”

   What will the new elementary look like? Much like the MS.

   Carpenter and Shannon schools were built in 1954 and 1960 respectively. Updated fire codes went into effect in 1958. At the time, Carpenter was grandfathered in. Construction had already started on Shannon.

   “So we don’t meet all of the current fire codes in there because our buildings are older,” Jaeger noted. “But that doesn’t make it safer for the kids.”

   The new school will offer more efficient heating and cooling. Now, neither elementary has AC.

   The new school would also be ADA-compliant. The electrical system would be upgraded.

   There would be more, and needed, collaborative spaces, much like the MS.

   “Small group collaboration zones and flexible gatherings spaces are all hallmarks of next generation schools,” notes the School Spirit newsletter.

   The new school would be more secure, too. This would ensure the safety of the students and staff within the building.

   There would be space for Panther Academy to continue to operate before and after school.

   Right now there are nine staff members who have to drive not only back and forth betweem Shannon and Carpenter, but between the campus and the two elementary schools. Having one campus cuts down on their time behind the wheel and not in front of students.

   “Those couple of minutes adds up over the course of a whole school year,” said Jaeger. “That is about 405 hours of time spent in a car and not in front of kids. If you look at that over the course of an eight-hour workday, divide 405 by 8, it’s about 50 school days of time that we have our employees spending in cars. That’s 50 days in front of kids we would have if we were one site.”

   Jaeger said he gets questions from parents and members of the community has to why the school year can’t end before Memorial Day. If those 50 days were added back into the school year, perhaps an early end to school could be in the cards for the MCSD.

   Having a central campus for PreK-12 also means every grade would start and end school at the same time. Right now, the HS and MS start at 8 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m. Shannon and Carpenter start later, at 8:15 a.m., due to school buses departing the HS/MS to drop kids off at either elementary.

   “There’d be no more shuttle time,” Jaeger said of a central campus. “If we added 15 minutes of time back onto 175 school days, we’re adding like six days of time back onto our calendar, which gives us flexibility a couple of ways.”

   Traffic congestion has also been raised as an issue. There are 360 elementary students. Two hundred ride a bus. Another 50 attend Panther Academy before and/or after school, meaning they don’t follow the traditional drop-off and pick-up schedule. Many parents who drop off a MS student are also dropping off an elementary student. Jaeger said the new elementary will not increase traffic at the campus.

   “With any school, 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after (school), are busy. That’s at any school in the State of Iowa,” he said. “Adding an elementary school adds 360 kids to the mix. It does not add 360 cars to the mix.

   “We can sustain a few cars to be able to increase our traffic flow,” he continued. “It is not as busy as people think.”

   What would happen to the Shannon and Carpenter sites? Much like with the former MS site, the school board would take public comment and then make a decision that best suites the community.

   Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early in-person voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Jones County Courthouse.

   For more information on the MCSD bond, visit www.monticello.k12.ia.us/elementary-bond-2 or contact Jaeger at 319-465-3000.