Neelyville school administrators explain Proposition K.I.D.S.

To the Editor,

The Board of Education and the administrators of the Neelyville R-IV School District value the viewpoints of all district residents concerning Proposition K.I.D.S. on the April 3 ballot. Please understand the decision to pass the tax levy increase, is ultimately up to the patrons of the district. If you are opposed to the new building project, the Board and administration respect your position. Regardless of your stance on this issue, the district wants to make sure the information you receive is accurate.

The tax increase of 86 cents will not make the Neelyville School District the highest taxed district in Southeast Missouri. Of the 65 school districts which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education classifies as the southeast region, Neelyville currently ranks 58th in total tax levy (8th from the bottom). Including the 86 cent increase proposed on the ballot moves the district to 27th, very close to the middle. In addition, the district has operated at or near the minimum state levy for many years.

The school district and the Proposition K.I.D.S. Committee have been very open in publicizing how the tax increase would affect residents. At no time has anyone associated with the effort said only land owners will be affected. Three pamphlets distributed across the community have attempted to help residents calculate the impact of the tax increase for their real estate, personal property, and agricultural land.

Neelyville has two buildings on the Neelyville campus that would not be part of the new campus because of their conditions. These were the buildings referred to as some of the worst, structurally speaking, in the state. Other than these two, our buildings are in good shape. When compared to the Hillview campus, there is more square footage of space that is usable at Neelyville even considering the removal of those two buildings. The heart of this issue speaks to the fact that it has been more than 40 years since residents have approved a ballot measure for district-wide facility improvements.

In the last ten years, the district has replaced the entire gym floor one time for flooding. Water did enter the building due to a downpour of nearly 20 inches in a 24-hour period. On another occasion, a section of the gym floor was replaced, but not due to flooding. A water pipe from the boiler that ran under the stage was leaking, causing damage to a 25 square foot section of the floor.

The concern with the unsecure entrances is not just the number of doors, but their types and locations. Both campuses have multiple buildings that are unconnected and have poor direct access to each other. At Hillview, there are many classrooms with doors that open directly to the outside and cannot be continuously locked. If an intruder was on the campus in one of the outlying buildings, there would be no way to notify and safeguard those students. The situation is better at Neelyville due to the more permanent nature of the buildings. All buildings are block and brick construction, with the exception of the current vocational building. The improvements would add structurally secure classrooms by connecting all buildings, except the vocational facility.

It has been stated the location of the Neelyville campus is inherently less safe than the Hillview facility; but let's not forget, the Hillview campus is built on a very busy highway, and within a mile of an adult entertainment establishment.

Some opponents of the project are unhappy with the length of bus rides, but many children would have shorter bus rides, since the buses would no longer have to go from one campus to the other before taking children home. Additionally, every child in the District currently attends Neelyville beginning in 3rd grade.

In the last eight years, the district has attempted to pass ballot measures to upgrade the facilities at Hillview. Each time the voters defeated the proposal. The District spent a great deal of time, including hosting community meetings in the fall, gathering input and looking at the options, before placing this issue on the ballot. On October 4th, a community meeting was held in the high school cafeteria before any decisions had been made to pursue a tax levy increase. The district wanted input from district patrons and to get a consensus on whether it would be worth our efforts. Moving the entire campus to Hillview, while ideal in some ways, would be approximately three times as expensive. Such a levy increase of this size is not financially feasible. The District wanted to make a real change that would positively impact every student, instead of putting a substantial amount of money into the Hillview campus, which is less economical and impacts fewer students.

The safe room is NOT a large portion of the facility cost. In fact, it is not included in the $4.5 million ballot request district patrons are being asked to approve on April 3rd. The architects have provided a possible future location on the site plan, and the district wanted patrons to know that they plan to pursue a grant for that purpose. If the grant is approved, the matching funds to build the safe room will come out of district funds and not the tax increase. The district DID receive approval for this grant approximately five years ago, but was unable to provide the matching funds required to receive the federal money. The district believes that it is likely to receive approval again, and can provide the matching funds from district money, separate from the levy proceeds and this project.

The current vocational building was built in the early 1990's. Contrary to what some think, it is stable and is not settling in a sink hole. There are not cracks in the floor and the foundation is solid.

There may be some misconceptions as to how the $4.5 million will be used. By law, it can only be used for the construction of the proposed building project. It will not be used for the safe room, salaries, supplies, etc. If passed, the tax levy increase will expire when the financing is paid off. The levy has been written with a sunset provision, which means as soon as the amount is paid in full, the tax levy increase is eliminated. Therefore, it will expire in 20 years or less.

The average market value for real estate in the district is approximately $75,000. The yearly tax increase for real estate, on this amount is $122.55. When you break this amount down, it will cost 34 cents a day. Please be reminded this amount does not include personal or agricultural taxes.

The current ballot measure would allow the district to take advantage of today's low interest rates and construction costs. It is impossible to predict future costs, should this project be delayed.

While some would say a "NO" vote today would make it possible for voters to approve an even better plan sometime in the future; the reality is, our children deserve better TODAY! Proposition K.I.D.S. is the most fiscally responsible and most feasible way to provide better facilities with the least amount of burden to our taxpayers. Any other assertion ignores the facts. We would like to see this happen for the kids in our district--we hope you do too!

Brad Hagood

Superintendent of Schools

Justin Dobbins

High School Principal

Aaron Burton

Elementary Principal

Neelyville R-IV Board of Education