Election slated for March 3
by Clarke Davis
The Jefferson West Board of Education has begun the legal process for holding a bond election in the district March 3.
The question that will be put before the voters will ask for approval to bond an indebtedness of $17.5 million for a period of 25 years.
“The bond issue is unique in that it will make improvements to every building in the district,” said Superintendent Dr. Brad Neuenswander.
He said there needs to be some classroom additions to a couple of buildings to keep up with district growth, and all the buildings need a mixture of improvements in heating and air, security, new windows, fire alarms and safety, electrical upgrades, and lighting. The list is long and available for viewing on the district’s website.
With passage of the bond issue, the district plans to move to a central kitchen at the high school, rather than the current configuration of three kitchens in three buildings.
Neuenswander said the district will stop heating up something frozen for the students’ meals and start baking and cooking from scratch. “We’ll bake the chickens, we’ll make our own noodles,” he said.
He said one person could be the baker while another is in charge of fresh fruit and vegetables, while others will prepare the main course. Bulk containers will be used to deliver the food to the other schools to be dished up.
“I want our children to have fresh baked cinnamon rolls,” he said.
The only sports-related item is a new track. The old track will be expanded from six lanes to eight and be completely rebuilt. The superintendent said the current track has cracks a dollar bill won’t cover and it needs a serious upgrade.
He said there is room to expand the track without moving electrical poles but the bleachers will have to be moved back. In the process, Neuenswander said the board wants to replace the visitors’ bleachers, which he calls an “embarrassment,” with the current bleachers on the home side and then put up a new, larger stadium for the home folks.
The proposed election comes on the heels of a failed election in November last year. Voters rejected a $21 million bond issue 58% to 41%, but that contained building a performing arts center and gymnasium combination. That piece is no longer being considered in this election.
At the current district valuation, the bond issue would require 13 mills. The annual cost to a homeowner with a $200,000 house would be $299, according to district figures.
“The median home value in Jefferson County is $193,000,” the superintendent said.
Commercial property is assessed at a higher rate, so a property valued at $200,000 would cost $650 annually.
“Our mill levy is now 41 mills and with the addition of 13 mills it will still keep our levy under the state average of 56 mills,” the superintendent said. The district has been debt free since 2018.
The age of the district’s attendance centers varies greatly from the elementary school where the oldest section dates to the late 1930s and has had several additions to the newest building, the high school built in the 1990s.
The middle school was built as a new high school in the late 1960s and the Ozawkie school was built in 1966 with Corps of Engineers funds with the coming of Perry Lake.
The estimated amount to be spent at the Ozawkie building is $961,584. The district has started a preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds in this building, which was leased to Keystone Learning Services.
Keystone is relocating to Oskaloosa, where it is building facilities, and the administration offices will soon relocate as well.
“This building still has single-pane windows,” Neuenswander said.
Restroom upgrades to meet ADA are included here as well as an improved security entrance. New or replaced canopies are planned at all buildings for loading and unloading children.
“This building has a lot of potential for other things,” Neuenswander said. “The board has not made any specific plans, but the district offices could be located in this building, and while we have no plans for a day care, a small one for staff members might one day be necessary.”
Four classrooms, two on the west and two on the east, are required at the elementary school where pupil growth is being felt the most. The district has gone from three to four sections of kindergarten and first grade and another section of second grade is now needed but there is no room to do so. The amount to be spent on this building will be $4.5 million.
“We need roof-top heating and air units to replace the individual units found in classrooms, the kind you find in motel rooms,” the superintendent said.
Lots of upgrades are needed here including the fire alarm system. He said the fire alarm is not connected to the fire department, so if a fire breaks out on the weekend, no one would know it in a timely fashion.
The middle school contains grades 5-8 and four classrooms are planned at this building. There is a problem in two classrooms where the floor has buckled and needs to be entirely broken out and replaced. A total exceeding $5.5 million is planned at this building.
The high school upgrades are numerous and include preparing the central kitchen and putting air conditioning in the locker rooms. A little over $3.3 million is planned for this building.
The interior office that faces the commons area will be moved to the front of the building next to an entrance with up-to-date security.
The vocational-ag building will get some attention with $910,000 in the budget, and the track improvements round out at $2.1 million.
A citizens’ committee has been involved in the planning and for detailed work on upgrading the mechanics. Neuenswander and the board were aided by all the electricians, heating and air, masonry, and plumbing experts in the community who know and have worked on the systems.
USD 340 has an enrollment of 890 students of which 19% reside outside the district.
The board members are Kelly Midgley, Eryn Allen, Matt Williams, Erin Payne, John Lloyd, David Jensen, and Derek Helton.