R-6 holds town hall meeting

SIKESTON -- The first of a series of town hall meetings to discuss Sikeston R-6 building needs kicked off Tuesday night in the cafeteria of Sikeston High School.

Nearly 100 people turned out for the event hosted by the R-6 Board of Education and Superintendent Tom Williams. The purpose of the event, Williams said, was to hear input from the community.

"Back in 2014, the district attempted to pass a a $32.3 million bond. With that, it failed. From that, we learned a lot of important things," Williams said.

The district hired Patron Insight which went to various community groups and surveyed community members. From that, the district was able to develop a series of concerns and areas it needed to address, he said.

"We learned that $32.3 million was too much. The overall cost was too much. The state of the economy, the length of the project list and the elementary grade structure which was a first and second grade center and third and fourth grade center were factors," he said.

The lack of communication between the district and its patrons, the lack of community involvement and Common Core were also concerns.

"We want community input on the phases and we want to determine through a series of meeting if these phases are feasible," Williams said.

Board of Education President Jim Gleason then addressed the crowd.

"One of the things we learned as we went through the process last time is that we did a tremendous amount of preparation but before we started getting community input, and we want to reverse that course this time," Gleason said. "We want to get a lot more public input before we really refine what we want to do."

But there has to be a starting point, he said.

"One thing our board and many in the public have mentioned to me over the past couple years is while that proposal was unsuccessful, it certainly doesn't change the fact we do have school building needs in our community," Gleason said.

Most people in our community agree with that or very strongly agree with that, he said.

"We want to start this discussion and start moving it forward rather quickly so that we can start to address the needs we all know we have."

The buildings are old and they affect how teachers teach, how students learn and the safety of the students, Gleason said.

"Many do believe we have buildings that need replaced or significantly renovated," Gleason said.

A straw-man proposal was developed by the Board.

Phase One, which would begin in April 2017, proposes no tax increase and includes the construction of a new first through fourth grade facility to accommodate 450 students on 8.57 acres of land donated by Scott Matthews in 2014.

"Our idea is to start small and grow from there and construct one new elementary on that property," Gleason said.

Once constructed, Lee Hunter Elementary students would be moved to this facility until Phase two is complete. Matthews Elementary students would remain at the current facility on Elm Street.

"Many citizens would like to see the board use some of reserve funds rather than use tax dollars to build buildings," Gleason said. "... Our district is very financially strong. We have got very good reserves."

The estimated cost is $11 million. The renovation of C Building at the high school is also included with an estimated cost of $400,000. Nearly $4 million of district reserves and $8 million from the current debt service levy of 21 cents would be used for the funding.

Also, the district is eligible to submit an application for a safe room grant by Dec. 1. If approved, the district could receive up to $1.9 million in grant funds for the safe room project.

"We think this is a really good start recognized by what people told us," Gleason said.

Phase Two, beginning April 2019, includes constructing one elementary building; the existing Lee Hunter facility would be removed for $200,000. A new first through fourth grade facility to accommodate 400 students would be constructed on the existing Lee Hunter site. Once constructed, Lee Hunter students would move to this facility and Matthews Elementary students would move to the facility constructed in Phase One. The estimated cost is $10 million.

The district would have to redraw its boundaries for the new facilities. Currently there are 1,100 elementary school children, not including kindergarten in the district, Williams said.

The renovation of Southeast Elementary for $500,000 is also proposed. Once the Matthews students are moved into the new facility, the Matthews Elementary on Elm Street would be removed for $200,000. Athletic fields would be construct on the new land at a cost of $200,000.

Funding for the project would include $2 million of district reserves and $10 million generated from a 19-cent increase to the current debt service of 21 cents.

Phase Three would begin around 2025 and include renovating A building on the high school campus and constructing a multipurpose building on the kindergarten campus. Phase Four proposes to construct a new Sikeston Career and Technology Center on the Three Rivers campus beginning around 2030.

"I'm excited about where our community is right now. We've got some fantastic things going on in Sikeston, and we have to recognize that. We, as a district, are keeping up with the progress that's being made in the community as a whole," Gleason said.

A member of the crowd said with the interest rates so low right now, can the district borrow more money instead of kicking them off in 2025.

"That was the board's consensus two years ago when we put that bond out," board member Scott Crumpecker said.

Another crowd member questioned whether the tax increase in phase 2 would be too much of a burden for some taxpayers and whether the example given for the estimated monthly tax increase was accurate. She suggested the board have more examples of the impact to personal and property taxes at the next meeting.

One attendee also noted the tax increase suggested is actually a 40-cent tax.

"The current tax (21 cents) would remain and would be extended (by 19 cents), and phase 2 would layer on top of that (for a total of 40 cents)," Gleason said.

Another attendee cautioned the board to space out the bonds and be careful not to get taxpayers in a jam where they can't afford what's being asked of them.

"I know schools are our most important thing. If we do this right, we could have some the best schools in the state," the man said.

Dr. Kevin Blanton discussed the importance of investing in schools.

"City Council, Chamber of Commerce have been putting effort into and have been extremely successful at recruiting new businesses, and there's a lot of growth of jobs in this region, but despite that, the number of kids who attend Sikeston Public Schools -- that's not growing," Blanton said.

He continued: "If you talk to these businesses that are hiring executives who are hiring people, they're not living in Sikeston, and they're not living in Sikeston because we're not investing."

Blanton said the community has to invest in its schools.

"That's not just investing in teachers and salaries in order to recruit teachers, but you have to invest in infrastructure," Blanton said.

Blanton noted he's actively involved in the recruitment of physicians to Sikeston.

"It is extremely challenging," the pediatrician said. "The last two people we were able to successfully recruit had kids who were grown and so the school was a nonissue. Before that, two people we brought to this community, they went to Lee Hunter and went elsewhere. It's embarrassing."

Other people who come to Sikeston schools for sporting events and other occasions, they see the facilities, and it is superficial, Blanton said.

"It really is," he said. "They don't see our excellent teachers. They don't necessarily delve into some of our scores and see where our student athletes go, but they can see our physical buildings. And it's imperative we make a substantial change -- and this isn't a lot of money that we're talking about. If you think about how much tax revenue you spend in federal taxes. This is money well spent. It stays local. It brings people in."

One of the best ways to increase the value of one's property is to get more people to move into a town, Blanton said.

"I was extremely disappointed the original bond issue didn't pass," Blanton said. "I don't think it's too much. All businesses and all communities have to invest."

The room erupted in applause.

Roger Sherman, retired R-6 educator and principal, echoed Blanton's comments.

"In 1960, I was teaching at the old high school. I would teach PE and world history and there was such a difference when we moved into this new facility," Sherman said.

There is an importance of a school in the community, he said.

"The community is only as good as the school," Sherman said.

One attendee asked if the board considered building an elementary school as it might be cheaper to do one large project.

School officials said it has been talked about. They said some didn't like the idea of leaving the neighborhood elementary school and going to mega schools.

Kindergarten Principal Jenny Hobeck said she liked the idea of a first and second grade center and third and fourth grade center because it eliminated barriers among the students.

A mother of five children who has four who are school-aged asked how the new construction would impact the children in terms of classroom space, computer impact and space for special classes such as art and music.

Gleason said those issues would be addressed in the design aspect of new buildings.

Another town hall meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Lee Hunter Elementary.

"We'd love to have you come back and refine it a little further," Williams said.