IHS students weigh in on bond issue

If a number of Iola High School students had their say, an upcoming bond issue for new schools on the edge of Iola would pass overwhelmingly.
Emma Piazza, IHS Student Council president, recently polled 85 of the 320-plus students on whether they favored the $50 million bond issue in front of voters in November.
Of those, 55 said yes (64 percent), 19 said no (22 percent) and 12 students (14 percent) were indifferent or undecided.
There were diverse opinions, Piazza said.
Of those in favor, most noted the aging IHS facilities.
“A lot of them thought something will absolutely have to be done with this school within the next 15 to 30 years, anyway,” Piazza said. “We should take advantage now, while we can get more than half of the funding paid by the state.”
Under current law, the state will fund 51 percent of the $50 million project.
The opponents, meanwhile, said the cost and higher taxes were their reasons for voting no.
“One person mentioned the history of the building,” she said.
Built in 1916, the high school will turn 100 years old when the existing freshman class enters its senior year.
Piazza and classmate Jo Lohman came up with the idea of the student vote during an idle conversation.
“It seems like the students are the ones who really don’t have any say in this, other than talking to our parents about it,” Piazza said. “And it’s especially important for our sophomores and freshmen, because they’ll be the ones most affected if a new school is built.”
Piazza delivered the ballots at random, featuring voters from all four grade levels.
The ballots asked for reasons behind the voting: They were marked “yes, because….” and “no, because…”
“We started with 60 ballots, but printed more because more students wanted to vote,” Piazza said.
She noted that some of the senior class students will be able to vote in the upcoming election because they will have turned 18 by Nov. 4.
Most of the IHS student population, however, does not.
“That’s why we did the poll,” Piazza said. “To give the students a voice.”
Piazza said she was in favor of new schools.