ELLIS — I voted yes for the $10 million bond issue that failed. I was thinking of voting yes again because the interest rates are low. I made the excuse that we had to do something, so I guess I will vote for this.
I recently had a conversation over lunch with a bond supporter. It made me stop and think about 20 years, the length of the bond. If the Lord is willing, in 20 years I will be 64. Then it hit me, I had a responsibility to research the bond to make sure it was the right thing to do. The citizens of Ellis will have to live with our decision for a long time.
I began to do research on the bond and the school system. I went to the district and picked up a bond packet and then went to work on the internet searching for more information. I attended the bond meeting. The deeper I dug, the less I wanted to vote for this bond.
At the bond meeting I got the feeling we have next to no plan for the old gym, football field, and track. If the bond passes, will we have two more facilities to maintain?
How marketable is the old facility? If it was not in the flood zone, I would not worry so much as the ground could be easily sold.
I see most of the small schools around us have gone to 8 man football. It would cut down on the travel but more importantly we could get our old rivalries back. I would love to see us play WaKeeney, Hill City, Stockton, Osborne, Dighton, Hoxie, Quinter…
Can a turf field be converted from 11 man size to 8 man size?
I love the ambience of the field where it is at. It won’t feel like Ellis football to me up on the hill in the pasture. It is my opinion we did not get a fair comparison of fixing up the old field vs building a new one. Turning the football field 90 degrees, elevating the ground 2 feet, building a Kiosk, and closing a street doesn’t seem like a realistic plan. I realize we cannot host a district track meet with our current facility, but does hosting one track meet every year give us a valid reason to build a new one? It was said that the new football/track complex would be a 5 day a week classroom. For 12 years I worked outside everyday in December, January, and February. I have my doubts about this being a 5 day a week classroom.
I found an article online about the study the school paid for. The article said the failed bond was not a surprise. A bond with the track/football field was not popular with the citizens of Ellis. Why put it on the bond? It seems to be the No. 1 reason why the bond failed.
Then I looked at the math on how we will save money on the HVAC loan. Unless I missed something, it will cost us a lot more than it saves us. If the HVAC loan is really causing problems how did we have enough money to write a check for the weight/wrestling room? I donated money to the weight/wrestling facility because I do think it is a good thing. I just don’t understand why we need to free up more budget when it seems we had enough to write a check for the Weight/Wrestling room.
Washington Grade School is out of space. We need to add on rooms at the high school to move the Jr. High students out of Washington. This seemed ok on the surface, but why would we not add these classrooms on to the grade school? It seems that an extension off of the east end with a 90 degree turn out by the street might work. Yes, I loved the pep rallies when I was in grade school and anticipated the move to the Jr. High. I also worry about putting my 7th grade daughter into the high school environment, but my main concern is the cost it would add.
We were told a part-time administrator might be added. Would they also need to add a secretary? If this person is added from outside the school system what is the cost? Will someone from inside the school be moved into the position? If we promote someone from inside the school, will we need to hire a part-time person to take over their duties?
Will we be paying the current administrator for the Jr. High the same wage for less work? For example, if this move added as little as $50,000 a year in payroll and benefits it would cost $1 million in 20 years. We will not be able to back this train up. This is a cost that will never go away! It will only increase as pay increases. From a business stand point; this move does not make financial sense.
I was pleased to find the grade school numbers were moved from $650k to $1.7 million. We added over 1 million dollars to the budget. I am a huge supporter of a complete remodel of the grade school but am I the only one who is confused by this. If we didn’t need the projects last year, why do we need them this year? What are the projects? The district lists the same projects in both bonds unless I missed something. Some have said the additional money will go into HVAC, but that was a project slated for the grade school on the last bond. Will we do an energy savings audit with a company that does not sell HVAC equipment to make sure this is a prudent move?
I like the gym project. I liked it even more when it was positioned by our current gym. Moving the gym all the way across the school and shrinking the size to save $1340 listed in the bond confuses me again. I do believe there is a connection between playing sports and improved academics. In my opinion, this is a moot point since the bond does not add or take away any sport.
A stigma comes with a no vote. You are stuck in the past, you don’t want to invest in the future, or you don’t want to pay higher taxes. A teacher in school even told my daughter if her parents voted no they were ”hypocrites.” I can only say that I would vote yes on a $20 million bond if it was a bond that moved education forward.
Michael Keller, Ellis