JACKSON SCHOOL PLANS OUTLINED

JACKSON -- About 20 people attended a presentation Thursday night that featured detailed descriptions of improvements the Jackson Board of Education would like to accomplish if a $7.8 million bond issue passes Aug. 6.

School Superintendent Howard Jones fielded a variety of questions about the bond issue at a forum at the Jackson Middle School.

Jones said the money, which would raise property taxes about $26 a year on a house with an assessed valuation of $70,000, would be used to construct a 44,500-square-foot elementary school on the southeast side of town, a math and science building at the Jackson High School campus, and add about 14,212 square feet of classrooms to North Elementary School.

An 18-member panel spent seven months studying the present school buildings, needs of the school system and possible avenues of curing a growing need for space. They recommended the new elementary school, which would be constructed on Boehme Lane and State Highway 25, to not only alleviate overcrowding at existing schools but lessen the time students spend on the bus.

Cathy Wissehr, who attended, said her children sometimes spend as much as an hour and a half riding the bus. Jones said the school board is looking at the present route efficiency and the feasibility of having a second bus route and hopes the new school would shorten those rides.

"We feel that we need to limit the amount of time students spend on the bus," Jones said. "I've had a lot of parents calling me and saying they have noticed a direct relationship between how much time their kids spend on the bus and how much trouble they get into."

The new school could run into traffic problems right away, Dee Walker, who lives in that area, said. Walker said he counted more than 500 vehicles coming out of Jackson Industrial Park during shift changes -- some of which may coincide with the end of the school day. He said more than 100 cars passed the proposed construction site in just the few minutes he watched and counted.

Jones said plans for the new school have not been finalized and some changes may occur if the engineers believe traffic could be a serious problem. He also said the school might change the time it usually releases the students at the end of the day to hit a period between shift changes at the industrial park.

Jones also fielded questions about all of the plans. Plans for the new elementary building have not been finalized. He said the elementary building would be constructed along the same lines as the Orchard Elementary School. The school board will continue to take suggestions on the design, even after one is finalized, he said.

"What might be a good idea is to put a plan in the paper with a note that says, 'Tell us what you think,'" he said.