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First barrage of questions lobbed at addition project
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · December 01, 2016
Near the end of a more than two-hour long meeting on the proposed $19.11 million bond issue to build additions at two schools, one parent raised the point that another vote looms for West Branch: possibly a $5 million recreation center for the city.
The Board of Education on Monday made its first pitch to the public on the Feb. 7 referendum to expand West Branch High School and Hoover Elementary, with many questions focusing on pupil needs and the impact on taxpayers. The project is estimated at around $21 million, with most coming from this property tax proposal.
Yet WBHS graduate and now parent Brandon Keeler, sitting halfway back in the high school auditorium, turned in his seat to address both the school board and audience, stating that he moved to town in 1989. Yes, he said, West Branch has grown a lot, but the project needs careful consideration.
“How many punches can a community really take?” he said.
Keeler said he “quizzed” several folks on the Feb. 7 vote, and was disappointed that not many people — about 20, not including school representatives — attended the public forum.
He thanked the school board for making themselves “accessible” for questions.
“I hope (voters) read the paper … there’s a lot of pieces here,” he said.
He noted that the city’s last referendum — $4 million for parks improvements — passed a year earlier by only one vote.
Board President Mike Colbert agreed that “we have our work cut out for us” to convince voters that the school’s needs are real and urgent.
“There are more cons to waiting,” he said. “But don’t vote ‘no’ on bad info, and don’t vote ‘yes’ on bad info.”
Board member Jodi Yeggy said she hopes everyone who attended the meeting can help spread accurate information on the project.
“There’s so many years of work put into this,” she said.
Regional Center
Responding to other questions from the audience, Superintendent Kevin Hatfield said the plan tries to balance Career and Technical Education courses — like nursing, automotive technology and industrial technology — between its own offerings and those offered at Kirkwood Community College’s Regional Center.
Hatfield said some suggested the Regional Center would eliminate the need for tech courses at WBHS, but that is only “partially true” since very few sophomores and no freshmen attend the Regional Center. And the school district offers tech courses to middle school pupils, too.
High School Principal Shannon Bucknell noted that agriculture education falls under the CTE label, and not only does WBHS continue to offer it, a dozen or so Solon students travel to West Branch to take their classes.
Hatfield said the school still “pushes” students to take Kirkwood courses for the dual credits, and Bucknell said 25 to 27 students attend on a given day.
Safety
Asked about enrollment figures, school principals said there are roughly 300 pupils at the elementary school, about 250 each at the middle and high schools. Colbert noted that enrollment dropped in the last couple of years, but “that has nothing to do with the quality of teaching.”
Part of the plan, he said, is to increase safety. Hoover Elementary Principal Jess Burger noted that also means significantly reducing the trips on foot between the elementary school and middle school for lunch and gym classes, and bus rides from the middle school to high school for CTE and some fine arts.
“I don’t want to fear-monger,” Colbert added. “I just want to mention it and move on. (Middle school pupils) spend a quarter to a third of their day out of the middle school building. It used to be that the middle school was self-contained.”
Burger said she also considers “lockdown situations.”
“When this is built, we will not have to worry about so much exposure,” she said.
‘Short notice’
Former school board member Karen Laszczak said that when the school board years ago offered a referendum to build three kindergarten classrooms at Hoover Elementary, they hosted five public forums prior to the election.
“A February election seems like short notice,” she said.
Yeggy said the School Improvement Advisory Committee meetings — which orchestrated the 15-year plan that includes these key additions — were open to the public as well.
“A lot of information is out there already,” she said.
The public will get another chance to view the drawings and ask questions this weekend during A Christmas Past at Town Hall.
“This is a long time coming,” Yeggy said.
Resident Norm Bickford asked how many square feet the addition at the high school brings compared to how many square feet will be subtracted should the middle school come down.
Struxture Architects’ Jesse Lizer said he did not know the answer to that question, but stated that the design takes into account “shared space” — middle school pupils will use some of the same rooms, hallways, etc. as high school students.
“It’s a lot more cost-effective,” he said.
Bickford also asked if the emergency lane wrapping around the back of the high school, a project already under way, is required. Lizer said yes, as state fire code states that there be a way for emergency vehicles to get within 150 feet of all parts of the school.
Bickford then asked if the school district plans to do the same for Hoover Elementary. Lizer said the elementary school will not get an emergency lane, but between what exists and the planned parking lot once the middle school comes down, such requirements will be met.
Resident Rod Hanson asked if the district calculated the cost of mowing, snow removal, etc. with the planned changes. Hatfield said that has not yet been done, but he does not expect a cost savings.
“I’ll never be on record saying that,” he said, though solar panels have been considered for the high school.
HBK Engineering’s Brian Boelk said the current middle school requires more upkeep since the building is older. Hatfield agreed.
“We definitely spend a lot of time on the roof of the middle school,” he said, fixing mechanical units.
‘Mingling’
Jeff Wrede, who teaches physical education and once served as dean of students at the high school, asked if the addition provides more lockers for middle school students. He counted 110 cubbies, 66 medium-sized lockers and 14 large lockers.
“We don’t want middle-school kids mingling with high school kids,” he said.
Colbert said “I have that concern on my list,” and will ask school administrators to address it.
Bickford asked about reading in the Times that the referendum vote, should it fail in February, could return in April.
“Is that a misprint or a scare tactic?” he said.
Matt Gillaspie, senior vice president of public finance investment banking firm Piper Jaffray, said there are two questions on the Feb. 7 ballot and both require a 60-percent majority to pass. The first question asks if the school district may borrow up to $19.11 million for the project; if that fails, the school district must wait at least six months before bringing it back for a vote.
However, the second question about raising the tax rate from $2.70 to $3.50 per $1,000 assessed valuation, to pay for the loan, can come back to voters in April, he said. There are four dates per year for which the school is allowed to call an election, he said, with February and April dates on that list.
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