By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
A $20 million dollar St. Joseph School District Bond Issue was heavily approved by voters last week.
It encompasses many different aspects, focusing on improvements to student safety and experience.
One of the biggest pieces of this bond deals with athletics. About $6.5 million will go toward new turf fields and running tracks at Benton, Central and Lafayette High Schools.
Shannon Notle, activities director for the school district, says this was a much needed upgrade for student competitors in the city, noting that teams and athletes travel to state-of-the-art facilities in Kansas City and other communities on a regular basis.
"There's a lot more out there that they see that we don't have here," Nolte told KFEQ Radio. "So, I think for our kids and students, it's a great thing. I'm glad our community was able to see that and vote that way so that our kids can have things that other students have in other areas."
Nolte says it'd be nice to have the fields done by the start of the next school year, but reiterates that it's not a guarantee.
"It might be better to wait and make sure we get things right and done correctly," he said. "Get the designs right. In some places, it'll be a tight fit. So, if we have to do some other things around the field to get it done right, I think we'd rather take our time and get it done right, versus rushing into it to get it done by August."
Turf fields will be more cost effective in the long run. District officials estimate it costs around $50,000 annually to maintain a grass field for competition and activities.
Nolte adds it'll be fun for athletes and teams once these projects are completed.
"What a fun experience it'll be at this time next (school) year when these things finally get done," he said, "and people say, 'Wow, there's some definite improvements going on.'"
"I'd like to thank the community for their support and their vote and we're going to now begin the work to get these things done."
The second biggest piece in the bond issue is $3.2 million, which is going towards fine arts upgrades across all schools in the district.
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