Iola residents may have given USD 257 a nice B average report card during a survey last month, but Hollis and Miller Architects say otherwise.
In an evaluation of district facilities, the architectural firm delivered an F, for poor condition, for each and every building. The Bowlus Fine Arts Center was not included.
USD 257 board of education members greeted the news at Monday night’s meeting with renewed determination to push for new facilities — but perhaps with a different scope.
For the last few months school boards across the state have felt the pressure of not knowing how school funding would shake out. On April 6, legislators made some cuts but preserved their contribution to the issue of bonds and interest payments for new facilities.
At their March 24 board meeting, members proposed conducting a special election on June 24 for a $35 million bond issue that would help build a new elementary school and maintain the high school and middle school.
Now that the pressure has eased up a bit, board members felt free to discuss other options.
“Do we want to continue proceeding down the road we’re on or do we want to hit the brakes a little bit,” school board president Tony Leavitt asked.
Darrel Catron pointed out that if the elementary school bond passed, passing another bond issue to build a new high school would be very difficult. He said that would mean the high school would have to last until 2045. It was suggested the high school might also be added to the bond.
“I would like to explore the possibility of sales tax,” Catron said.
It is the hope of school board members that the city would devote a portion of its sales tax to the construction of new facilities. In 2011, the city granted a quarter of a cent sales tax to the operation of Allen County Regional Hospital. That garners about $275,000 a year. A one cent sales tax nets about $1.2 million a year.
Mark Burris, who was present via a video conference call, reminded board members about the Patron Insight survey that was conducted.
“I’m in favor of all the buildings but what did our survey say,” Burris said. “The sales tax is a game changer. We didn’t have that at our disposal when we made the resolution but we can’t sit here and spin our wheels.”
The board agreed to invite their representative from George K. Baum Co., and Hollis and Miller Architects to discuss their options again.
“We gotta look at what is best,” Don Snavely said. “We don’t have anything we have to rush into.”
