By Annika Doberenz
The Kingsland School Board held their latest meeting on the humid evening of July 15.
As per their meeting in June, one of the board’s primary objectives was the final readings and the approval of nearly 20 resolutions and handbooks. While all of them were approved, some necessitated more discussion than did the others.
The majority of them involved agreeing on the proposed rates of things such as the pay for both substitute teachers and student workers, as well as other miscellaneous fees and funding plans. Although they were quick decisions, and were passed without hassle, the board is required to review each of these things, in addition to some other more minor proposals, every July in order to ensure that the next school year’s budget and planning will run smoothly.
The other main focus of the meeting was to plan for advertising in the area’s upcoming festivals, such as Fall Fest in September, Ag Days in August, and Spring Valley’s Wednesdays on Broadway, which occur monthly through October.
However, the school board will be doing a particular type of advertising. With the election coming up this November, Kingsland has an opportunity to petition the district for funding. Of course, there are predetermined needs that the additional funding would fulfill. As District Superintendent Scott Klavetter described the current situation, “What we’re working on here is getting information out to the community about the Building Bond Referendum. We will be asking the voters in November to look at a two-part question… and what we’re working on right now is community education and information sessions.”
In essence, without sufficient funding, the school will be on the verge of lacking the facilities they need in order to continue to educate their students as well as they do. Klavetter also pointed out that it will be significantly cheaper to repair all of the necessary roofing now, rather than waiting until a later date or completing the project piece-by-piece. For one, the prices will most likely just continue to increase, at least if one considers the way the economy has been trending. Moreover, the vast majority of companies will provide lower quotes for customers who request one larger project in place of several smaller ones strung out over several years, simply because it ends up being easier for them to avoid all of the extra setup and takedown time. Biting the bullet, as it were, and effectuating the entire project in one fell swoop is considerably more financially intelligent.
The school board’s upcoming attempts to make their plans known to the district and to voters is all done with the intent of informing the public of their goals. They merely want to ensure that, by the time the election rolls around on November 5, the people who have the power to make sure that the school is adequately provided for are thoroughly and completely informed.
The way it will work is this: when voters from the Kingsland district go to vote, they will have the option of voting in favor of the Building Bond Referendum, which has two parts.
Firstly, there is the question of the new roofs, which are needed on every building but the gym. Several spots in the roofs have already begun to leak, so this project would be better accomplished sooner rather than later, although all of the roofs will need to be redone within the next five to ten years.
Secondly, there is the question of the new athletic facilities. Kingsland has just had the floor in its gym refinished, and although this has provided a beautiful new area for sports like basketball and volleyball, there are athletic needs that cannot be met by the size of the current facility. The school board has proposed building an entirely new structure that would be primarily dedicated to Kingsland athletics. For these plans to pass, however, the board will need the support of the district, as it will require an increase in taxes for the plan to succeed.
With their goal in mind, members of the board are planning to set up information stands at as many of the upcoming festivals and celebrations as possible in order to guarantee that the people who would be impacted by the passing of the Building Bond Referendum are educated on what it means for the school, for the district, and in the long run, for the community.
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