Superintendent seeks public comment on proposed bond
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ST. IGNATIUS – Mission School District Superintendent Jason Sargent wants public input concerning a bond currently proposed at $5 million to possibly be put on the election starting in April.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do on this in the next month, and I’d like people to ask me the hard questions,” he said, adding that he welcomes phone calls and meetings. The school board votes on the proposed plans in February.
He wants to know if people support the bond, what they want to see fixed or built, and he welcomes any other opinions concerning the bond. The next public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Mission Middle School next to the library.
“I don’t want people to say ‘I knew nothing about this’ when the election comes up,” he said, adding that he has put together tours and slide shows to help explain what the school needs.
Sargent said this issue affects everyone within the Mission School District and that includes people with property outside of town. With a bond set at $5 million for a 20-year term, taxes on a home valued at $100,000 would increase by $174 per year at $14.50 a month.
“This affects everyone including the ranchers and farmers,” he said, adding that he would really like to have input from them as well.
Sargent added that everything that has been done to the school as far as additions and repairs was done without bonds or levies since about 1980. He said that all additions and repairs were done with Impact Aid money and other grants.
“We haven’t hit the taxpayers for dollars for a lot of years,” he said. “Without doing that, I believe we have fallen behind in deferred maintenance.”
Sargent originally proposed a bond at $8 million to get everything fixed and repaired. A few members of the public said it needed to be lower, so he decided to see what the public thinks of $5 million.
He said the improvements would fix safety concerns, modernize the facility, and add needed space. The current priorities include a new gym with a weight room. He said students currently have sports practice late into the evening because there isn’t enough room for both boys and girls at all levels to practice.
“Sometimes they don’t get home from practice until late and that doesn’t leave much time for homework,” he said.
Additional expansions would include locker rooms for the boys and girls. The elementary roof needs to be fixed. The ceiling in the current gym needs repaired. New bathrooms need to be built in the high school lobby, and a new shop needs to be built.
The deferred maintenance projects included in the bond would cover things like a remodel in the Family and Consumer Sciences Room, music room expansion, lockers, bleachers, and a new tennis court.
“If we don’t get the tennis court replaced, we will have to eventually cut the tennis program,” he said explaining that the tennis court is badly cracked. Attempts to repair it in the past were made but it continues to crack.
Sargent said he is working on creating an exact list of priorities that fit the budget at $5 million with monetary amounts so taxpayers know where the money would be spent. He said some of the projects might need to be scaled down. He plans to have that list at the next meeting. He also welcomes input before the meeting.
