In a season long on meetings, but never short on patience, USD 257 Superintendent of Schools Jack Koehn hosted what was the final community forum before Tuesday’s election that will determine the direction of Iola schools. Taking into account the combined costs associated with the old schools, Koehn projected the savings at the new school to be nearly $700, 000. “Money that’s not going into classrooms right now, that’s not going toward our kids and their education. It’s going someplace else — utilities, maintenance, inefficiencies. We think that’s significant.” HORNER ADDRESSED the details of the new campus, including its safety aspect of having a single, monitored entrance for each the elementary school and the high school.
A sedate crowd of about 30 gathered in the gymnasium at McKinley Elementary to hear Koehn — aided by Kirk Horner of Hollis and Miller, the proposed architects, and financial adviser Steve Shogren — deliver a point-by-point presentation in favor of the upcoming bond issue.
Thursday’s forum was a change to the usual format. While administrators and experts continued to field questions from the floor, they also met individually with members of the audience after the event, and remained until all questions were answered. Tables were arrayed around the perimeter of the gymnasium staffed with those in the know, including Steve Smith of Universal Construction; Scott Stanley, operations and maintenance director; Tony Leavitt, school board president; Don Snavely, vice president of the board, and Susan Raines, executive director of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Koehn spent the first part of his hour-long presentation enumerating the needs of the district and the last half batting back many of the rumors that continue to accumulate as Election Day nears.
Among the problems with the current multi-campus system are:
• The “inappropriate and inadequate” spaces being used for special education;
• Disproportionate class sizes;
• Unequal access to technology between the elementary schools;
• The difficulty for teachers to collaborate on lesson plans and activities
• ADA non-compliance. “If the bond issue doesn’t pass, I can almost guarantee you that we have a very good chance of being investigated by the office of civil rights.”
• Increasing maintenance costs due to old roofs, buckled floors, and rampant mold.
• Supporting a fleet of buses that meets the state’s standards
• Keeping pace with area schools when it comes to technology, for students and teachers both. “I don’t know of another district that doesn’t have laptops for its teachers,” Koehn said;
• Inefficient utility costs. “We consume 34 percent more energy per square foot than schools around us that were built between 2008 and 2011.” All of the heating and cooling units are on life support.
• Outmoded storm shelters. No school in Iola is designed to stand up to tornadic winds or has spaces to shepherd children in such cases.
A single campus would eliminate the dispersal of resources, according to Koehn, and would lead to a much-needed “consistency in curriculum, policy implementation, technology…”
“I’ve heard a lot about neighborhood schools.” Koehn said. “To be honest with you, we don’t have neighborhood schools.”
That’s because many students are forced to attend schools in other parts of town either to better balance out the student population or because they cannot negotiate stairs. Neither Lincoln nor Jefferson are equipped with elevators. Only McKinley is a one-level school.
The design for a single elementary school on a campus north of town would be all one level.
All of the speakers emphasized the importance of taking advantage of the 51 percent in state aid.
Shogren spoke to ballot issues as a “window of opportunity.”
“Next Tuesday is a deciding date for the future of this community. You’re in competition with other communities. If you want to improve your schools, it will never be more affordable than at this time.”
Continued maintenance of old buildings robs funds for students, teachers
