• • The State of Iowa recently passed legislation that only allows school bond referendums once per year in November. The School Board and the community advisory group overwhelmingly agreed that having a referendum in 2023 was better than waiting until 2024 to vote on facility needs.

  • With construction inflation going up 10%-15% per year, addressing our needs sooner than later was determined to be more financially responsible.

The State of Iowa places restrictions on the amount of debt a school district can incur at any given time. While this limitation can pose challenges to the district's budgeting process and its ability to undertake necessary facility projects, it serves the important purpose of ensuring that school districts remain responsible stewards of taxpayer funds.

Our School Board and District Administrative team carefully considered the recommendations for facility improvements put forth by the community facility planning committee and have categorized these projects into two distinct areas of funding:

• Bond Projects (Initiative #1): These projects necessitate bond funding (debt) due to their size and associated costs. They cannot be accommodated within an annual budgeting process because their scope requires completion within a fixed timeframe and exceeds the annual allocations we receive from funding sources like PPEL, Voted PPEL, and SAVE.

• Voted PPEL Projects (Initiative #2): The projects outlined in Initiative #2 are smaller in scale and can be executed over a planned period. They are integral components of our comprehensive Facility Master Plan and seamlessly integrate with our routine annual maintenance plan for the district. However, the completion of these projects does require us to increase our Voted PPEL levy over the next decade to secure the necessary funding to address these needs.

• • We started with an in-depth review by SitelogIQ, an engineering firm specializing in work with K-12 schools. All aspects of all our facilities were analyzed, including indoor air quality (temperature and ventilation), light & noise levels, adequacy of learning environments, safety and security, etc.  

  • Results of the study were presented to and reviewed by the School Board. The Board then sought input from community facility planning committee made up of 27 volunteer community members. 

  • The facility planning committee had five meetings where they analyzed data, toured the school, and learned about Iowa school finance. Ultimately the committee developed a consensus facility improvement recommendation to the School Board. 

  • After the recommendation was presented to the School Board, a community-wide survey was completed. 317 people participated in the survey that included questions about potential facility improvements as well as the potential tax impact. Survey results were then shared with the Board before any planning was completed.

• • Numerous studies have shown that a healthy, efficient, and comfortable educational environment has a direct impact on student achievement.  For instance, proper fresh air ventilation has shown to increase student achievement by as much as 10%-15%. 

  • This referendum addresses several learning environment issues in our school buildings, including heating and air conditioning systems; temperature control; air quality & ventilation; lighting; and sound - all of which contribute to a better environment for teaching and learning.

A secure entryway with check-in is a proactive security measure that helps create a safer and more controlled environment within the school, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and enhancing the overall safety of students and staff. Secure entryways are recommended for all schools today and include the following benefits: 

• Enhanced Security: A secure entryway helps to prevent unauthorized individuals from easily gaining access to the school building. It typically involves locked doors, access control systems, and surveillance cameras to monitor who enters and exits.

• Visitor Verification: It provides a designated area where visitors, including parents and other non-students or staff, can be properly identified and verified before being granted access to the rest of the school. This helps prevent unauthorized individuals from entering the school unnoticed.

• Safety of Students and Staff: By controlling access to the school building, it reduces the risk of threats such as intruders, violence, or other potential dangers from reaching students and staff inside.

• Improved Focus: When students and staff feel safe and secure in their school environment, they are more likely to focus on teaching and learning rather than concerns about safety.

• Prevention of Disruptions: Secure entryways can also help prevent disruptions caused by unauthorized individuals entering the school, which can be unsettling and distracting for students and staff. A controlled access point can maintain a more orderly and calm atmosphere. 

• Although we are growing in Hinton and our enrollment is increasing, open enrollment helps optimize class sizes and can be limited if grade levels reach capacity. In this way, we are able to add students without increasing the number of staff or the size of our facilities simply because of open enrollment. Open enrollment can be closed on a grade level basis as our classes fill.

• We pride ourselves on being a district that has quality programming that families want to enroll and participate in.  The additional students we gain through open enrollment allows us to offer additional programming and enhanced learning opportunities we may not otherwise be able to offer because we don't have enough students to participate. 

• While open enrollment families do not pay local property taxes, they do pay property tax in their home district. Since they don't pay property tax in our district, each open enrolled student brings a large portion of their full state aid with them when they enroll in our district, providing us with additional revenue in Hinton. Because most of our operating costs are fixed (we have the same heating, electric, and other utility costs, minimal additional staff, etc.) the added revenue is able to fund other items in our budget including additional programming and opportunities for students.

• Additional students mean our district receives additional revenue from the State. This additional yearly revenue benefits program expansion, upper-level courses, teacher retention, facility and maintenance needs, and allows us to operate more efficiently with optimal class sizes. 

If you have a Merrill address and you are included in the Hinton School District then your ballot on election day will include the relevant questions. You can also refer to your tax statement to confirm allocation of your school tax dollars. If it does not identify Hinton then your ballot will not include these questions and there would be no tax impact.