BY CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays school district Vision Team members laid out a $78.5 million bond proposal to the school board on Monday night.
Representatives of the team tried to impart to the board and the community why they thought the bond was needed and why it is different from a bond issue that failed in July 2016.
Mike Morley, parent and spokesman for the previous bond issue, said he was pleased the last bond failed, so the vision team could bring this better proposal to the board.
Morley addressed several objections that were raised in the wake of the failed bond issue.
The first one is that of trust. Morley noted the district had contracted with two firms to serve as construction managers at risk to oversee the project and ensure the project was done properly and came in on time and on budget.
Some members of the community have expressed concern the formation of this new bond has been done too quickly.
DLR, the district’s architecture firm, has put in an estimated 1,700 man hours working with the district on the bond proposal in addition to eight sets of meetings that included input from parents, teachers, administrators and community members, as well as a three-hour teacher in-service.
Morley said the formation of the bond had not been in a vacuum. Not only had community members been included in the Vision Team, but the district surveyed more than 1,000 community residents about district needs and the level of tax they would be willing to pay to support the bond.
Eighty percent of respondents said they would support some kind of tax increase for the district’s facility needs with the majority saying they would support a tax increase of between $10 and $20.
The Vision Team’s proposal includes a 30-year bond that would increase the taxes on a $150,000 home by $16.43 per month.
Some of those who voted no on the previous bond also expressed concern sales tax would be used to fund the bond. This proposal uses only property tax.
“This is a completely new bond package built from the ground up by educator and community support,” Morley said. “The voters spoke and this bond represents what the community wants at a cost that is 35 percent less to the taxpayer than the last bond ask. It is a solid plan.”
The vision team is recommending the bond issue be placed on the November ballot. It will be up to the school board to decide the timeline for the election.
Mike Walker, parent and Vision Team member, talked about the scope of the bond project.
Some of the highlights from the bond issue include two new elementary schools, renovations of Roosevelt Elementary School, a new gym for PE at the middle school, a new auditorium at the high school, renovated classrooms and CTE space at the high school and storm shelters and secure entrances at all schools.
To read more on the specifics of the proposal click here.
One of the two new elementary schools would be built on the site of the current Wilson Elementary School. Money would be included in the bond to purchase land for the second new elementary school if it is needed.
Krista Brooks, parent and teacher spoke about the need to improve the district’s educational space to meet the current and future needs of students.
Brooks first addressed the improvements at the elementary schools.
“Every space within these buildings will be used as educational space,” she said. “More space than we are currently able to provide will be designed for collaboration and opportunities for project-based learning.
“Obviously things have changed over the last 60 years from technology to educational practices, and yet our district’s educational space has changed very little.”
One focus of the bond is rightsizing classrooms. Brooks explained what that meant.
Rightsizing is giving enough physical space in a classroom to allow for a variety of learning styles, she said.
Gone are the days when children sat in rows and were lectured by teachers.
The new spaces would allow for techniques such as pulling students to the floor for whole-group instruction, allowing students to work independently, teaching small groups and assigning students to work collaboratively to produce group projects.
“Employers want workers that have the capability to be flexible, who will work well with others, as well as be able to complete projects independently,” she said. “Our educational spaces currently limit our ability to educate in that model.”
Brooks said the district’s facilities are limiting its ability to continue to be a leading school district in the state.
“By investing in our school infrastructure, we are making our city more attractive for people considering moving here, therefore making our city more competitive,” she said.
Board members thanked the vision team for its work on the bond proposal. The board opted to save questions for a future meeting until they had more time to evaluate the plan.
Board member Josh Waddell said, “We need more time to digest and go through this with a fine-tooth comb, so we don’t get just the synopsis here. I am not speaking on everyone’s behalf, but I am going to have a lot of questions and they will be loaded and they will be coming. …
“I love the presentation. I can feel the passion and the effort and the closeness in it. You touched on it, there are a lot of perspectives, and we are trying to do what is best for the community. I look forward to looking through it.”
RELATED: See the results of the Hays Post poll on the bond issue.
Hays USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen will talk more about the proposed bond issue on KAYS 1400 AM/94.3 FM at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. The Morning Show also airs live on Eagle Cable CH. 14 and 614.
