GAS — Questions and commentary kept coming Thursday as USD 257 officials continued to state their case for new elementary and high schools in Iola. THE DISTRICT has a pair of upcoming meetings next week.
Roughly 35 people attended the public forum at the old Gas Grade School building, where Supt. of Schools Jack Koehn, 257 Board of Education President Tony Leavitt and architect Kirk Horner of Hollis & Miller spelled out the need for new facilities.
As with prior meetings, the first hour or so focused on the district’s needs and why school board members have decided to pursue new construction instead of renovating the old schools.
Voters in USD 257 will decide Nov. 4 whether to approve the $50 million bond issue that would increase property taxes a net sum of 9 mills over what is spent this year, while Iola voters also will decide on a half-cent sales tax proposal. Both must pass in order for the project to proceed.
More than half of the project — 51 percent — would be funded through state aid. The state aid also would cover 51 percent of interest accrued as the bonds are retired.
Among the topics:
— Building accessibility, and lack of special education facilities are issues that need to be addressed regardless of whether the bond is approved.
As it stands, none of USD 257’s schools are considered ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant because of insufficient parking, narrow doorways, lack of elevators, and improper wheelchair ramps.
Some in the audience wondered why more wasn’t done to improve accessibility before now.
“We’re doing what we can,” Koehn responded.
— If students utilize the Prairie Spirit Trail route to get to school, the Iola Police Department would step up patrols in that part of town, including bike patrols along the trail. Likewise, the district would consider working with the Iola Police Department to put an office for a community resource officer within the complex.
— A traffic study will be completed by engineers to determine whether Oregon Road or State Street would need to be altered to handle increased traffic flow to the new schools. One of the options mentioned was adding a turning lane along Oregon. It wasn’t immediately clear who would be responsible.
The cost of adding sidewalks along Oregon, State and North Kentucky streets also was mentioned.
— Bullying in the classroom was a hot topic, some in the audience mentioned, prompting many to take their children to other school districts.
— Leavitt noted that while consolidation isn’t on the table statewide or locally, the topic has been brought up enough that districts, including USD 257, are paying attention.
Part of the reasoning behind the proposal to build the new schools along Oregon Road would be in case students from neighboring communities would have to begin attending schools in Iola.
— Iolan Brenda Miller grilled Koehn about the fate of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, and whether pulling vocal and instrumental music, art and drama classes from the building would be suitable.
The district has announced plans to utilize the Bowlus with career-based fine arts programs, such as graphic art design, music composition, and video broadcasting. Those classes would be half-day classes.
— Miller also said the district should have visited with property owners around the existing schools to determine what pulling schools from downtown Iola would do to their respective property values.
Another in attendance said she owned rental homes, and that a 9-mill property tax increase would affect her decision on rent charges for her tenants.
“Rent is already extremely high,” she said. “A lot of these changes are going to make it hard for people to afford to live here.”
Universal Construction, the firm that would serve as construction manager for construction project, will host an open house for local and area contractors and laborers from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Riverside Park Community Building.
Universal is interested in finding local participation for cabinetry, concrete, doors, drywall and acoustical, excavation, fire suppression, floor covering, glassworks, climate-control systems, landscapting, masonry, material supplies, painters, plumbers, roofers, site utilies, steel erection and other vendors.
For more information, call John Shortall, (913) 342-1150, email jshortall@universalconstruction.net.
Meanwhile, the next public forum will be at 7 p.m. next Thursday at Lincoln Elementary School.
Forum helps settle questions
