Area voters to decide tax, bond issues Tuesday

Area voters on Tuesday will decide the fate of a number of school tax and bond issue measures designed to fund construction projects.

Millions of dollars are on the line for schools and fire districts, while scores of people are vying for school board and city council and aldermanic races across the region.

Voters in the Fruitland Area Fire Protection District are being asked to approve a tax increase that would pay for full-time staffing. The district currently is staffed solely by volunteers.

Fire district officials said approval of a 50-cent increase in the tax levy would pay salaries, benefits and insurance for 11 firefighters. Volunteers would continue to make up the remainder of the 30-man force.

Jackson city voters will decide whether to allow sales of intoxicating liquor by the drink. City officials said the measure is needed to comply with a Prohibition-era state law that requires voter approval in cities with populations under 19,500.

The Jackson School District is seeking voter approval of a $22 million bond issue to finance school expansion projects. The plan includes construction of a new building on the high-school campus to accommodate ninth-grade students, school officials said.

The junior high school then would be converted to house seventh- and eighth-grade students. The middle school would be expanded to house fifth- and sixth-grade students.

North and West Lane elementary schools would be expanded. The district wants to reconfigure its elementary schools to serve students in kindergarten through fourth grade.

The infrastructure changes would lower class sizes, according to Jackson superintendent John Link. “Every nook and cranny, we have students,” he said recently.

In the Perry County School District, voters will decide whether to approve a 35-cent property tax increase to help fund construction of a new elementary school as well as make major improvements to the middle school and high school over the next eight years.

The tax increase would generate about $300,000 a year, according to school officials.

Coupled with money from the existing levy and about $900,000 in fund transfers, the district would have about $1.35 million available in the first year, officials said.

The district would use the money as capital for lease certificates, allowing the district to borrow money without bonds, superintendent Andy Comstock said.

The Chaffee School District needs elementary classroom space and is asking voters to approve a $1.1 million bond issue that would pay for two modular classrooms and renovate the old elementary-school gymnasium into classrooms and storage space.

“We’re just out of space at the elementary (school) even after adding two classrooms,” Chaffee superintendent Ken Latham said.

Chaffee school officials also want to demolish a former medical clinic just west of the high school to allow for future development.

Scott County Central School District voters will decide whether to approve a $1.75 million bond issue to replace mold-containing classrooms as well as upgrade the heating and cooling systems throughout the district.

Oran School District voters will decide on a $1.035 million bond issue to fund various school improvements, ranging from heating, cooling and roofing projects to replacement of bleachers in the high-school gymnasium.

There are a number of contested school board and municipal races on the April ballot.

• Cape Girardeau School Board: Five candidates are running for three positions. They are Tracy Curtis, Melissa “Missy” Herbst Smith, Jared Ritter and incumbents Philip “Phil” Moore and Tony Smee.
• Chaffee School Board: Four candidates are vying for three positions. They are Steven Milz, James Reischman, Steve Seyer and Dale Tenkhoff.
• Kelly School Board: Voters will fill three positions on the board from among Greg Birk, Kelly Bridges, Tammy Allen Wadlington, Clint Tyler, Shane Washburn and David Brashear.
• Delta School Board: Five candidates are vying for three spots. They are Kenneth Cook, Jessica Sanders, Scott Bond, Amy White and Jason Deckard.
• Oak Ridge School Board: Four candidates are seeking three spots. They are Pat Hunt, George Below, Jon Taylor and Scott Hahs.
• Scott County Central School Board: Four candidates are competing for three spots on the board. They are Timothy Carlisle, Robert Cook, Carmen “Lou” Thomas and Tony Lackey.
• Woodland School Board: Six candidates are running for three positions. They are Joe Ridings, Jason Cook, Jennings Wilkinson, Doug Lindley, Angie Davis and Jeff Scott.
• Advance School Board: Five candidates are vying for three positions on the board. They are Ron Simmons, Nanie Hawkins, Joshua Ryan Schrader, Tom Schmidt and Jared Lacy.
• Leopold School Board: Four candidates are running for three positions. They are Chris Horrell, Emily Lanpher, Charles Duckworth and Derek Halter.
• Meadow Heights School Board: Six candidates are competing for three positions. They are Dalton D. Denman, Carl G. Burr, Mary (Kathi) Miinch, Jennifer Proctor, Lindsey Davis Petton and write-in candidate Dennis Mouser.
• Altenburg School District: Three candidates are running for two board positions. They are Lucas Hager, Amy Ussery and Harold France.
• Scott City City Council: Ward 3 Councilwoman Donna McGregor is seeking re-election. She is opposed by Gary R. Spinks.
• Perryville City Council: Voters will decide between Larry Riney and Mark Hotop for Ward 1 alderman.
• Chaffee City Council: There are contested aldermanic races in three of the city’s four wards.

In Ward 1, Leah Warner is running against incumbent Darlene Crocker. In Ward 4, incumbent Eric Seyer is challenged by Garrett Warren. In Ward 2, Jason Davis and Jerry Childers are competing for an open seat.

• Advance City Council: There is a race for Ward 2 alderman between Tom Schmidt and Toby Rodgers.
• Marble Hill Board of Aldermen: Voters will choose between Earl Parker and Bobby Masters for a one-year term in Ward 1. In Ward 2, Chad Ritter and Charley Neeley are vying for a two-year term.
• Gordonville Village Board: Three candidates are running for two positions on the Gordonville village board. They are Deborah Bessette, John Friedrich and Pamela Saucier.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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