Voters should approve school bond
By NewsPress Now
If voters pass a $20 million bond proposal for the St. Joseph School District, the immediate impact is easy to see.
This measure would provide $1 million for science and technology programs, $3.2 million for arts program upgrades, $2 million for an intercom system to enhance school safety, $2 million for roadways and sidewalks near schools, $2.3 million for HVAC system efficiencies and additional funding for additions to Hosea Elementary.
And, oh yes, $6.5 million to install turf fields and make track upgrades or replacements at the three (for now) public high schools.
It’s all there in black and white.
If the bond fails, the consequences are harder to grasp. Critics point out that board members sometimes engage in petty infighting and that high schools would be getting turf fields while teachers remain underpaid.
Ask yourself, does rejecting this bond fix any of that? In particular, the turf field vs. teacher pay issue is a false equivalency designed to deceive voters. A district cannot use its debt service levy for teacher salaries, so the pay issue remains the same whether teams play on AstroTurf or mud. (The better counterargument would be to question the rationale of installing turf at high schools that may in the future no longer be high schools).
But in reality, there’s little in this measure that should excite supporters or get detractors worked up. It doesn’t even increase your taxes because it merely extends the current debt service levy at the current level.
It’s a modest proposal that gives students, teachers and families the kind of facility improvements that big-city districts take for granted. Voters should give their support for that reason alone.
But this election is something that positions the district for the bigger challenges in 2025 and beyond. If you look on the district website, a draft of a 2024-2029 long-range plan shows that big changes are on the horizon regarding the number of facilities and high schools.
It would be surprising if this draft represented the final form of a proposal submitted to voters, but it’s clear that if St. Joseph can’t approve a modest, no-tax bond extension then bigger changes will be harder to come by down the road.
Approval of Tuesday’s $20 million extension allows the district to retain the higher bond capacity that will be necessary to build new facilities in the future. Voters should give their support on April 2.
