By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph school district voters will decide in April whether to approve a $20 million bond issue that won’t require a tax increase.
Superintendent Gabe Edgar explains 53 cents of the current St. Joseph school levy goes toward paying off debt with much of that debt being retired.
“If you don’t have the debt then you have to lower that levy,” Edgar tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “And if you lower that levy from 53 cents to 26 cents, you’re never going to get that 27 cents back, because you’re going to have to go to the vote of the public to get that back. If you don’t have that, then nothing is ever going to happen progressive here in St. Joseph from a capital improvement standpoint.”
The St. Joseph School District has paid off enough debt to issue an additional $80 million in bonds without triggering a tax increase.
The money generated by the bond issue would pay for public safety upgrades, academic programs, and activities.
Public safety includes work in partnership with the city to build roads at Carden Park and Oak Grove Elementary Schools as well as extending the district sidewalk program, which plans sidewalks for Pickett and Pershing Elementary this summer and possibly Spring Garden Middle School if the issue passes.
HVAC upgrades would be funded. Edison and Eugene Field Elementary Schools had to cancel classes when the rest of the district returned from the winter storm, because their heat pump heating systems couldn’t keep up during the bitter cold stretch. The district-wide intercom system would be upgraded.
Assistant Superintendent Ashly McGinnis says some of the academic improvements planned would be an upgrade for fine arts, which she says is often overlooked, because the public tends to focus on core subjects.
“But we know the importance of those elective courses, because that’s what gets kids to come to school,” McGinnis tells Birr. "That’s what gets them excited about school. And so we want to make sure we’re putting dollars into those programs that keep kids motivated for learning.”
Science and technology would be included as well.
Artificial turf would be added to the high school football fields, making them more versatile.
Edgar emphasizes the school board agreed to seeking the $20 million bond issue after much discussion with administrators, teachers, students, and community members.
Voters will decide the issue April 2nd. It will take four-sevenths approval to pass.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.