 Legacy - Planning for Facility Needs at Our Schools
The Pattonville Board of Education on June 22, 2010 approved a new facilities plan for the district and decided to ask voters to approve a $41 million zero tax rate increase bond issue during the Nov. 2, 2010 election to fund projects in the plan. The new facilities plan addresses issues related to maintenance, repairs, safety and
fitness and includes projects at every school in the district. Nearly all of Pattonville’s schools are between 40 to 50 years old and require ongoing repairs, updates and improvements. For this reason, Pattonville updates its facilities master plan every four to five years.
Putting the Plan Together
The district has a long tradition of involving parents, staff and community members in developing these plans. The district worked with staff and parents at each school to develop a preliminary plan. Feedback on the draft plan was gathered through the Pattonville Legacy Program. This program - which was guided by a facilitating team of parents, staff and community members - gave Pattonville residents a chance to review the proposed facilities plan and provide their feedback before it went to the Board of Education for approval. During the month of April, representatives of the Legacy program attended 45 different events in the schools and community to share information and gather feedback, engaging an estimated 4,000 individuals in the process. Information and feedback options were also provided on the district’s Web site and
through the district’s “Pattonville Highlights” newsletter, which is mailed to every home in Pattonville.
Pattonville Legacy Findings
The Legacy Facilitating Team presented its findings to the Board of Education on June 8. Team members said they received positive feedback from the vast majority of participants at events they attended, and the majority
of written responses were also positive. There was a high level of support for items related to maintenance, repairs and safety, and residents liked the fact that a new facilities plan would not require an increase in the district’s tax levy. Projects related to fitness and student involvement were well received. Several comments were made about the pool, with more supporting the construction of a pool than opposed.The team voted unanimously to support Pattonville moving forward with the facilities plan as outlined in the draft document and supported funding the plan through the use of a zero tax rate increase bond issue.
Funding the new facilities plan
Pattonville can issue $41 million in bonds to pay for items in the new facilities plan without increasing the debt service tax rate residents pay. By law, the debt service tax rate cannot be used to fund the day-to-day operations of the district, including items such as salaries, textbooks and transportation. It can only be used for the sole purpose of paying off bond issues used for large-scale capital projects. Pattonville’s debt service levy of 49 cents has been unchanged in more than 10 years. To find out more about funding click here.
What's included in the facilities plan
The new plan addresses three key areas:
Challenge 1: Ongoing maintenance and repair needs of aging schools
The Projects:
Several areas have been identified district-wide:
Challenge 2: Enhancing school safety and security
The Projects:
Several items will improve safety:
Challenge 3: Providing facilities to support lifetime fitness and student involvement
The Projects:
Research shows students who are connected and involved in school do better academically. In addition, childhood obesity is a serious concern in the U.S. For these reasons, Pattonville is placing more focus on lifetime fitness and in getting students engaged beyond the school day. A district committee studying student involvement recommended several projects:
For more information
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