The New Bloomfield Proposition K.I.D.S. (Keep Improving District Schools) election committee saw mostly familiar faces at its forum Thursday night. The forum was an opportunity for the committee and the district's superintendent to answer questions voters had regarding a $2 million no-tax-increase bond issue which will be on April's ballot.
The bond issue, if it passes, would be used to fund facility repairs in the district - mainly the replacement of heating and cooling systems as well as major parking lot repairs.
The bulk of forum attendees were election committee members, school administrators and school board members. State representative Travis Fitzwater attended as well as only a few community members. Despite a low number of new faces, Superintendent David Tramel said reaching as many voters as possible is important.
Among those new faces was Shirley Hodges who hadn't heard any details about the bond issue until attending the meeting. One of Hodges' friends, who is on the election committee, encouraged her to attend.
Hodges said she and her husband both graduated from the New Bloomfield district and they had two children graduate from the district. She said she found it beneficial to hear Tramel and the committee discuss the facility repairs Thursday night.
"It sounds like it (the bond issue) is needed," Hodges said.
Prior to her friend encouraging her to attend Thursday's forum, Hodges said she didn't even realize the bond issue was on April's ballot.
Reaching people like Hodges is why Tramel said every opportunity to talk about the bond issue is imperative.
Tramel added that he did not expect a large crowd to attend the forum. The best way to inform voters about the bond issue, Tramel said, is by engaging with community members on a regular basis. The forum was one opportunity for that engagement, he said.
Election committee members have reached out to some community groups, as well. Tramel encouraged everyone in attendance Thursday to engage with others in the community about the bond issue at community events.
So far, community members whom Tramel and election committee members have spoken to have all been supportive of the bond issue.
Tramel added that one question he has been frequently asked is if New Bloomfield's taxes would go down if the bond issue fails. Taxes, Tramel said, will not be lowered and, he added, facility repairs will not go away.
"We have to have heat, we need air conditioning," Tramel said Thursday night. "It's not that we haven't done a good job maintaining, it's that these things have life spans."
JoEllyn Caudle, who has taught in the district for 12 years, said the district's maintenance director has done all that he could to fix the heating and cooling systems, but added "you can only do so much." Tramel echoed her sentiments.
"You know you need HVAC repairs when your certified HVAC maintenance director is going out to Lowe's buying heaters to heat our rooms," Tramel said. "(He) has gone through many of those units and done all that you can ... instead of buying parts, he's buying space heaters."
Caudle said she had heaters in her classroom during this past winter.
The district, Tramel said, has talked to engineers and architects and is capable of doing these projects for around, but not more than, $2 million. He described both projects as "straight forward."
"The parking lot work and the HVAC work would be starting as soon as the bell rings in May," Tramel said.
If the bond issue is approved and funds are left over after the HVAC and parking lot repairs are complete, the bond issue could fund additional repairs. The district has a comprehensive school improvement plan that Tramel described as a laundry list of other needs in the district.
"We made a conservative effort to not over promise these funds," Tramel said.
He emphasized again that the problems will not go away. Furthermore, he stressed that it is a normal process for school districts to use bond issues to fund expensive projects like these.
"These projects need to be done," Tramel said. "We have a way to do it without raising taxes."
He said the school board has saved money over the last several years by paying off debt early, which is why the district is in a place where it can borrow money without raising taxes now.
The district, Tramel said, needs more than 57 percent of the vote to get the bond issue approved in April. He said he worries that a lot of "yes" voters will stay home because they don't think there are enough "no" voters for their vote to make a difference.
The election committee is in the process of sending out mailers with information on the bond issue as an effort to further inform the community. Election day is April 7.
"I hope everyone comes out and votes yes," Caudle said. "We just need everyone's OK."
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New Bloomfield Prop K.I.D.S. election committee's fact sheet on the proposed no-tax-increase bond issue