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South Nodaway R-IV School District administrators and faculty met with district patrons Monday during an informational meeting on a proposed 59-cent tax levy increase set to go before voters April 3.
The levee would add 59 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to patrons' property tax bills. District officials say the revenue is needed to finance $1.1 million in bonds to pay for improvements at the South Nodaway middle school/high school campus.
Those improvements are to include a classroom addition that would allow the district to close its elementary school in Guilford five miles to the east. If the plan is carried out, the Guilford facility would close at the end of the 2012-'13 school year.
A district bottom line weakened by state and federal budget cuts is one reason for the proposed closure, but according to South Nodaway Superintendent Kyle Collins, finances are only part of the picture.
"The number-one problem is the condition of our buildings," Collins said. "Both of them are more than 70 years old and in bad condition."
Collins said that while a million dollars sounds like a lot of money, continuing to staff and maintain two schools is more costly in the long run.
R-IV currently serves about 85 middle school and high school students and approximately 100 elementary pupils.
The superintendent also believes that consolidating classes at a single campus will enhance curriculum in a number of areas, including agriculture, one of the school's biggest programs.
Collins said the district is currently debt free, having paid off an earlier bond issue in 2010.
"This bond will actually be less than what people paid in 2008 through 2010," he said. "It will actually be less than it has been in the past."
During Monday's meeting, South Nodaway Elementary Principal Darbi Bauman asked patrons to consider how the proposal would affect students.
"Now it's a matter of 'how do we want this to be?'" Bauman said. "What is best for the students of our district?"
While no one likes tax increases, the district says that continued budget cuts are a reality for Missouri's struggling rural school districts.
Documents provided by South Nodaway estimate that by the end of the 2012-2013 school year the district will have lost $226,433 to state cuts.
Some believe that failure of the bond issue could raise the specter of consolidation with another district or even the loss of both schools.
South Nodaway R-IV School District administrators and faculty met with district patrons Monday during an informational meeting on a proposed 59-cent tax levy increase set to go before voters April 3.
The levee would add 59 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to patrons' property tax bills. District officials say the revenue is needed to finance $1.1 million in bonds to pay for improvements at the South Nodaway middle school/high school campus.
Those improvements are to include a classroom addition that would allow the district to close its elementary school in Guilford five miles to the east. If the plan is carried out, the Guilford facility would close at the end of the 2012-'13 school year.
A district bottom line weakened by state and federal budget cuts is one reason for the proposed closure, but according to South Nodaway Superintendent Kyle Collins, finances are only part of the picture.
"The number-one problem is the condition of our buildings," Collins said. "Both of them are more than 70 years old and in bad condition."
Collins said that while a million dollars sounds like a lot of money, continuing to staff and maintain two schools is more costly in the long run.
R-IV currently serves about 85 middle school and high school students and approximately 100 elementary pupils.
The superintendent also believes that consolidating classes at a single campus will enhance curriculum in a number of areas, including agriculture, one of the school's biggest programs.
Collins said the district is currently debt free, having paid off an earlier bond issue in 2010.
"This bond will actually be less than what people paid in 2008 through 2010," he said. "It will actually be less than it has been in the past."
During Monday's meeting, South Nodaway Elementary Principal Darbi Bauman asked patrons to consider how the proposal would affect students.
"Now it's a matter of 'how do we want this to be?'" Bauman said. "What is best for the students of our district?"
While no one likes tax increases, the district says that continued budget cuts are a reality for Missouri's struggling rural school districts.
Documents provided by South Nodaway estimate that by the end of the 2012-2013 school year the district will have lost $226,433 to state cuts.
Some believe that failure of the bond issue could raise the specter of consolidation with another district or even the loss of both schools.
"Our district is too good of a school district to let go," Bauman said.
This will be the third time in recent years R-IV patrons have been asked to approve a similar levy. However, Bauman thinks the upcoming vote may be the most crucial.
"A lot of people don't know the facts this time around," Bauman said. "This is different from bond issues of the past. We want this to be as transparent as possible."
Bond issue supporters say they plan to educate voters in the run-up to the April election by going door to door to make their case.
In addition to the Barnard classroom addition, district officials want to update the school's kitchen and basement as well as re-organize existing instructional space.
Another public meeting on the proposal is to take place Feb. 13 in Guilford.
