Community weighs in on potential JCPS bond issue

The Jefferson City Public Schools Board of Education has 51 days to decide how to move forward with a bond issue to fund a second high school.

It's a short window, and board members have expressed concern it's not enough time to draw up a plan and share it with the community.

Superintendent Larry Linthacum recommended the board move forward with a plan to build a second high school and make major renovations to the current campus - which would cost roughly $120 million to $130 million. He also suggested the district address the elementary and middle schools in 2020 and 2021.

Although JCPS hasn't committed to putting the high school plan on the April ballot, rough construction plans are being drawn in preparation for a potential April bond issue.

Some board members seem shaky about an April bond issue, while others fear waiting another year will further compound overcrowding at the high school. Even though a second high school is being proposed, some haven't taken building another elementary school off the table.

The biggest player in any bond issue will be the voters, and people's opinions are across the board with what they'll support.

Pulse points from the community

The News Tribune posed a question to community members on social media, asking: "What would convince you to approve a JCPS bond issue for a second high school?"

It garnered nearly 80 responses as of Friday.

The most common response was people supported having two high schools. Twenty-two original commenters liked the idea of two high schools, saying it's something the community has needed for a long time, and one person was on the fence. Four commenters said the district does not need two high schools, and one suggested adding on to the existing high school.

Three original commenters wanted the district to address the elementary schools - mentioning East Elementary School specifically as needing more attention.

Two commenters were concerned about the sports teams, namely football, and didn't like the idea of the teams being broken up. Four people were concerned about their taxes, and two people said Simonsen 9th Grade Center needs to be addressed as well because of the building's age.

Brittany Balding, a 2011 Jefferson City High School graduate who is currently attending Lincoln University, sent the News Tribune an email expressing her support for two high schools. She experienced overcrowding at the high school and said she felt like one of the masses. If there had been fewer students, she said, she would have known more about school programs and had more access to them.

"The isolated event I like to use when talking about missed opportunities at that school has continued to affect me, educationally and professionally," Balding said. "I did not find out until halfway through my senior year that Nichols Career Center offered LPN classes that seniors could take. I found out far too late. I frequently think about if I would have found out about the program if I wasn't one student in a group of over 600 - roughly 1,800 for the whole school, I think - being seen by only about half a dozen counselors. If I spent more time with my counselor beyond meeting once a year for a few minutes to make my new schedule, maybe she would have known my goals in medicine and would have been able to recommend the program at Nichols to me."

If the district doesn't do something about the overcrowding, Balding said, she will likely move out of the area. But if another high school is added, she would re-evaluate her plans.

Balding said she often hears complaints the two high schools would become rivals, but she sees it as a positive for both schools to compete and work harder in academics and in sports.

April Mertens, a 20-year resident of Jefferson City and parent of JCPS students, also supports the idea of two high schools. She responded to a News Tribune Facebook request for interviews. Her oldest child graduated from high school last year, and her youngest is a junior this year.

She has also observed overcrowding at the current campus and said her son talks about how difficult it is to travel across campus to the trailer during the passing period.

"I think Jeff City is definitely ready to have something run in April," Mertens said in a phone interview. "The sooner we can get it going, the better it will be for our children. My kids obviously won't benefit from it, but my nieces and nephews will."

Thoughts from the superintendent

Linthacum said the community has a lot of valid concerns. The elementary schools are an issue, sports are popular in this town and people want to see the teams stay together, and no one wants higher taxes.

The two-high school concept was selected as the first issue because it would serve a more immediate need. This year's fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classes have more than 700 students - roughly 600 more than the current combined 10th- through 12th-grade classes. Simonsen will need trailers in 2020 at a $300,000 cost if nothing is done to address those large incoming classes.

He also understands why people might find having two football teams unsavory, but he believes two high schools will create more opportunities for students. More students could turn out for clubs, sports, choir and band, he said, and having competition between the two high schools wouldn't be a bad thing either.

But most important is the tax component, and it's one of Linthacum's biggest concerns regarding the bond issue.

"We need to be able to show the added value and the benefit of raising taxes," he said. "No one thinks their taxes aren't high enough. We want to make sure we're transparent and educate people about the different parts.

"We want to be better communicators day by day," he continued. "That starts with me. It's how we do business. We need to be upfront and honest and take responsibility."

If voters approve a second high school, he doesn't want the two schools to represent the "haves" and the "have-nots." A $40 million renovation is substantial, and while the schools won't be identical in their appearance, the current high school will have a new feel to it.

Architect Cary Gampher said roughly $15 million to $20 million of those costs will be updating the current high school's heating and cooling and electrical systems. The interior would be reconfigured to better fit modern teaching - some schools have wings that support smaller learning communities.

Even having more natural light would make a difference. Much of the building's original beauty has been covered by layers of new ceilings and walls to create better air flow, Gampher said.

"It will look like a new building on the inside," he said.

The board's conundrum

The board started more serious, public conversations about a bond issue in September and has tasked Linthacum with meeting with the architect and gathering more information.

Six of the board members - President John Ruth, Vice President Steve Bruce, Treasurer Ken Theroff and members Pam Murray, Lorelei Schwartz and Michael Couty - responded to the News Tribune's request for comment. Member Rich AuBuchon did not respond.

The most common concern was the cost associated with the plan and the short time they would have to plan it and communicate with voters about it.

"I've listened to a lot of community members state they believe we need a second public high school," Schwartz said. "But when you start talking about about how much taxes are going to increase as a result of that decision, the diverse reactions concern me."

Some people are essentially willing to write a blank check to have another high school, while others are willing to shoulder a tax increase as long as it's not too high, and others won't support a bond issue no matter the cost, she said.

"It is difficult to accommodate the diverse opinions, but the bottom line is we are trying to provide the children of this community the best possible education in good educational environments with the investment our community is willing to make," she said.

Bruce said the board needs to be conscious of those on fixed incomes. The largest employer, the state of Missouri, hasn't granted employees more than a couple small pay increases in several years, he said.

He said he recognizes his family could handle a tax increase, but many families can't.

Murray's response was similar.

"Since the 2008 economic downturn, not all members of our community have rebounded," she said. "Looking at our free and reduced-price lunch numbers compared to the entire state for the last 10 years, our numbers were similar until 2011, when our rates became increasingly worse, indicating our students and their parents and families face more challenges."

She also mentioned her concern about the elementary school project and doesn't want people to think it's not considered a need in the district.

"Construction of a new elementary school on the east side of town is not off the table for me; it just is not the greatest need today," Murray said. "While we do have overcrowding, the benefit would not be seen before those students have moved on to middle school. We need short-term solutions to tide us over until we can put forth a no-tax-increase bond issue for elementary needs in the future. That becomes possible as the Pioneer Trail bond is paid off and new bonds are paid down."

Theroff said communication with the public will be challenging, and the board will need to develop a strong strategy to explain the district's needs to patrons effectively.

Board members' opinions vary on when a bond issue should run - this year or next year. Murray said if they can create and effectively communicate the district's plan, then she would support running the bond issue in April 2017.

Couty said once the board has developed a clear and detailed plan that allows the community to "understand, partner and support such an issue," then it will be the right time to run a bond issue.

Bruce and Theroff said they're leaning toward 2018.

"I think we need to take the time to fully explain to the voters what the costs will go toward, why a second high school is a good, rock-solid investment in the JCPS and the community, and how making this investment now is a good thing," Bruce said. "If the voters express they're ready to vote on it and hopefully pass it in 2017, I'm all for it."

"All things being equal," Theroff said, "I would prefer 2018 because it gives us time to thoroughly inform our patrons of the plan. But I do worry about the possibility of rising interest rates and the effect that would have on our purchasing power. If we can gather all of the information discussed above in short order - perhaps before the end of 2016 - then I wouldn't be opposed to considering a proposal in April of '17."

Ruth was the only board member who expressly said the bond should run in 2017.

"We've discussed this issue in Jefferson City for over 20 years, and community members that were both against and for the last bond issue worked hard to come up with this recommendation," Ruth said. "We will only see interest borrowing costs increase in the future and construction costs increase. If approved in 2017, we can address the space concerns we have for this year's sixth-grade class. We need to answer this question once and for all: Will our district have two public, 9-12 high schools? Why wait any longer?"