JACKSON TURNS UP SCHOOL PLAN AFTER SEARCH

Copyright 2000 Southeast Missourian

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Jackson Board of Education couldn't show about 50 people at a board meeting Tuesday night how it plans to spend a $6 million bond proposal for improvements to the junior high school. Neither could school administrators lay their hands on a spending plan at the request of a Southeast Missourian reporter the next day.

By Thursday a project estimate had been located and forwarded to the newspaper. The estimate, written by architect John Dudley last December, contained an increase of $280,000, which schools Superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said was recommended by Dudley as a "fluctuating construction amount."

Anderson said the increase was derived by adding $5 to square-footage estimates throughout the project to adjust for possible increases in construction costs. Details for the project have remained much the same since board members first reviewed the estimate in January.

"It's the estimate used by the board to determine what to ask for to start with," Anderson said. "I don't remember how we broke it down at the time. It was presented as a summation."

Voters Nov. 7 will be asked to approve the bond issue for improvements to R.O. Hawkins Junior High School.

It will be the second time in four months the issue has gone before voters and the third time this year voters have considered a bond proposal. In April voters overwhelmingly rejected a $5.3 million bond issue that would have funded the junior high projects in addition to construction of an elementary school. The $6 million proposal fell some 300 votes short of the four-sevenths supermajority required during August elections.

The $6 million bond issue would fund construction of an 18-classroom addition, expanded kitchen area and gymnasium. Any additional funding would be used to purchase classroom furniture and equipment for the junior high school and technological equipment districtwide.

The bonds, which would mean a debt-service tax-levy increase of 10 cents per $100 assessed valuation for property owners, would be repaid over 20 years. That tax increase amounts to about $19 more in property taxes annually for a homeowner with a $100,000 home.

Anderson said Thursday $5.7 million would fund the new classrooms, kitchen area and gymnasium. The estimate did not include the costs of new desks, chairs and other classroom furniture and equipment, nor did it specify possible technological equipment costs.

He said the estimate appears sound and has been well researched by school administrators. Community confidence in the estimate should be strong because the district has a history of getting low bids on construction, he said.

"I think that the comfort zone with the architect has been very good and the district's had very good experience with the prior projects," said Anderson. "I think we're very comfortable with what he's put together."

Junior high overcrowding

School officials said previous school boards cut costs by making hallways at the junior high narrower, which makes it difficult for the 800-plus students to navigate. In addition, there is so little walking space in some of the building's classrooms that it would be difficult if not impossible to get more students inside if it became necessary.

Cutting curriculum would not alleviate the space crunch because most of the oversized classes are in core subject areas like math and English, Anderson said.

"When you're in the low 30s in a classroom, that may be the minimum the state would allow in the junior high school, but that's too many," he said. " I think anytime we get above 25 in the majority of them, we start to have more than we would prefer -- physically and academically."

As of Tuesday, enrollment at the junior high had reached 805 students. Although it is high and growing larger everyday, the enrollment is not quite as large as the 933 students attending classes at the building during the 1994-95 school year.

To alleviate overcrowding, seventh-grade classes were moved from the junior high into the new Jackson Middle School along with fifth- and sixth-grade classes from the district's elementary schools in fall 1995.

Most of the people who attended the meeting Tuesday agreed crowded hallways and lunch periods were a problem at the junior high. However, they suggested the district find a compromise -- for example, construction of 12 classrooms instead of 18 -- to make the bond proposal more attractive to voters.

Specifics questioned

Several people said they knew those who had voted against the bond issue because the ballot proposal did not specify how the funding would be spent. Specifically, they wanted to know how much it would cost to build a single classroom or reduced number of classrooms and complete other projects school officials said were necessary.

"I have no doubt the school needs this money, but I don't think you need as much as you're asking for right now," said one woman during the meeting. "Why not take care of your immediate needs now and come back in two to three years?"

Anderson said the line-item costs would be of interest to some residents, but other voters "just want to know the bottom line."

Some also questioned the vagueness of the phrase "and other improvements" tacked on at the end of the Aug. 8 ballot item. They recommended plainer language for the November ballot.

"I went in to vote for it, but I checked 'no' when I saw that phrase," one woman told school officials. "That just left it too wide open for me. If you're going to build 18 classrooms, then say that on the ballot."

Anderson said the November ballot issue would be reworded "to reflect those concerns." Anderson said the project will be "a lot more specific than it was."

In the past, issues considered by voters have been twofold: one looking at the bond and another at the levy. The school board decided Tuesday to wait until at least April before seeking voter approval of an operating tax-levy increase.

Two proposals seeking operating tax-levy hikes of 27 and 40 cents per $100 assessed valuation died Tuesday after residents told the board they wouldn't support both a bond issue and a tax increase in November.

The 27-cent proposal asked voters to waive the Proposition C rollback. The 40-cent proposal called for a Prop C rollback and 13-cent tax-levy increase.

Proposition C is a 1-cent state sales tax earmarked for education. The money is collected by the state and distributed to schools per pupil. The money goes back into district budgets, allowing them to lower their tax levy so that property owners get some relief.

If voters agree to forego the levy rollback, they in essence raise the tax levy.

Other levies needed

Neither proposal would have been sufficient to cover budget projects in the next five years, Anderson said. It's possible the additional funding from either proposal would not be enough to cover projected costs, which included costs for additional teachers, classified staff, textbook and library book purchases and other operational costs.

"We've really got it thin. We're doing the best we can, but I think we're being too conservative," Anderson said.

Anderson said a levy hike will be needed soon to boost sagging fund balances, but the need is less urgent than that at the junior high because additional funding generated by a tax increase would not be received until next November. Voters would have to approve the tax increase before Sept. 1.

In the meantime, school officials will continue to cut corners in all spending areas, including personnel, which makes up about three-quarters of the district's budget, said Anderson. Ten teachers and one nurse who were needed were not hired this year.

In addition, the district's libraries are about 4,000 to 5,000 book titles short of accreditation requirements. The district runs about eight students per computer districtwide, while the state average is roughly four students per computer.

Laura Johnston of the Southeast Missourian contributed to this report..

R.O. HAWKINS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Demolition, $22,300

Excavation, $14,610

Site development, $583,197

Building construction, $4,055,724

Total, $4,675,831

Contingency 10 percent $467,583

Sub-total, $5,143,414

Architects and engineers fees, $308,605

Project estimate $5,452,019

Estimated cost increase, $5 per square foot, $281,085

Total project estimate $5,733,104

Remaining for furniture, classroom equipment and technological equipment, $266,896

CUTS MADE DUE TO BUDGET SHORTAGES

Request for 18 positions, only eight were filled.

Did not add a nurse.

Did nut purchase library books and media supplies that would bring all libraries up to expected standards. This would have cost between $400,000 and $500,000.

Projects Declined:

* Additional parkingat the high school

* Improve air conditioning at the junior high school

* In-school-suspension program at the Middle School

* Replace air-conditioning units at West Lane

* Expansion of Orchard Elementary driveway

* Replace air-conditioning units at North Elementary in speech and counseling rooms

Technology Projects Declined:

* Purchase computers for first-grade classrooms at Orchard and Kindergarten classrooms at Primary Annex.

* Update computer labs at Southe Elementary and high school

* More internet accessibility at the middle school library and junior high school library for research projects