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The bond proposal to the voters is $8.8 million. This equates to a $1.86342 levy rate per $1,000 of NET taxable evaluation. For example, a home assessed at $150,000 has a NET taxable value of $76,345. The annual tax increase will be $142.26 or $11.86 per month. (Assessed Value is NOT Market Value. Market Value does NOT play a role in the calculation of property taxes.)
Logan-Magnolia receives over $7,300.00 for each open-enrolled student into our district. For the school year 2021-22 we will receive over $765,000.00. These funds will help pay our teachers, expand our curriculum, and help keep tax rates low. It is important to make these much-needed improvements to allow Lo-Ma CSD to remain competitive with neighboring districts and prevent open enrollments that would cause the district to lose funding and the ability to retain top-quality administrators and teachers.
The Jr.-Sr. High School science and chemistry classrooms have not been updated since the school was built in 1979. 40+ years of curriculum changes and significant technology advancements without any updates to our undersized and inadequate labs. The approved bond issue will allow for three newly constructed Jr.-Sr. High school science labs/classrooms with adequate classroom and lab space, and modern-day technology.
The approved bond issue will allow for the creation of a newly constructed elementary science room which does not currently exist. Our 5th & 6th grade students’ science experiments currently are very limited due to the fact that the room is carpeted, there are no sinks or running water to provide water for labs and cleanup of material, there is insufficient storage, no ventilation system, and an insufficient number of electrical outlets.
The approved bond issue will allow for the creation of a newly constructed elementary music room. The current elementary music room used to be a computer lab and was not designed with music-making in mind. The elementary music room is used for general music classes, but because of its size, it cannot be used for elementary band practice or concert rehearsals. The 5th & 6th grade band students lose 10 minutes of rehearsal time each class period because of the transition to the high school band room. Over the course of the school year, this equates to 23 class periods of time lost. The proposed new space will be large enough to hold general music classes, band practices, and concert rehearsals.
The approved bond issue will allow for the creation of 1,200+ sq ft of additional storage space not only for the entire district, but for our very large and popular music programs. The district has struggled with storage space in both school buildings for years. Presently, the auditorium stage is used for storage. When the stage is needed, everything that is stored on the stage is stored in the hallways of the school.
Our high school music wing is currently required to accommodate over 200 5th-12th grade students and their equipment. During 3 class periods of the day, every room (including the 2 teacher offices) is utilized for band, choir, small group, or individual practices. 2 of the 3 practice rooms are being used in some way for storage, limiting how they can be used for teaching. The approved bond issue will completely solve the music department’s storage issues while also adding practice space during their peak times of the day. There are numerous educational benefits to efficient storage plans including decreased setup time, a less congested learning environment, and increased teaching time per student.
The approved bond issue will allow for 3 elementary classrooms per grade level, keeping class sizes small, improving student to teacher ratio. This will reduce the average class size from 20+ students to 15-20 students in each classroom.
Part of the bond proposal is to separate and create a new elementary media center. Presently, our high school shares the library with the elementary school which causes the high school and elementary students to cross paths, which is not ideal. The new center will be adjacent to the existing media center. This proximity will enable services to be shared, but it will provide a distinct learning area for conducive learning for elementary students.
One of the benefits of the March 1st bond issue vote is the ability to convert one of the present science classrooms into a Lifetime Skills classroom for some of our students identified for special education services. Presently, we transport some of our students to neighboring school districts for Lifetime Skills. While we do appreciate our neighbors helping us to educate our Logan-Magnolia students, we would prefer to keep these students here in our district with the rest of their classmates and friends. The cost to renovate this classroom will be kept low since the present science rooms already have gas, water, and sewer hookups.
Elementary students are kept in their classrooms for recess when the wind chill is below 0 degrees Fahrenheit or due to precipitation. Due to lack of space, staying in their classrooms is the only viable option without interrupting physical education classes taking place all day in the elementary multi-purpose classroom/gym and high school gym. The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome addition will allow space for indoor recess when needed. Elementary students need recess time to recharge and is crucial for their cognitive, social and emotional development.
Our school does not have a tornado shelter. Twenty years ago, an EF4 tornado destroyed homes and took lives from the Logan-Magnolia community. The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome is a structure that is able to withstand an EF5 tornado. It will provide a safe haven for all our students, staff AND guests. Some say it is a high price to pay for an event that may never happen again, however, the price will be infinite if it does.
The Jr.-Sr. High Physical Education teacher, Mr. Ettleman, loses his classroom at least 18 times each year due to lack of space needed for other school sponsored events and curriculum activities**. This equates to 10% of the school year where our students are not gaining the benefit of daily physical education. The proposed dome will allow the current gymnasium to be used for daily music practice, large science experiments, concerts and various other programs without interrupting physical education. **other event examples: Veteran’s Day program, six concerts, Honor Band and Choir, Large Group Music Contest, College Fair, Art Fair, Senior Awards Day, Jr. High Awards Day, Graduation
Lack of gym space limits our ability to schedule Jr. High physical education into the daily class schedules for Jr. High students involved in athletics, band and choir. Many of these students do not have the option (and will never have the option) of taking a structured Jr. High physical education class due to lack of gym space and conflicting schedules. This lack of instruction in physical education puts them at a direct disadvantage compared to students in neighboring districts where all students are guaranteed physical education every day. Lack of space restricts our students from reaching their full educational potential with physical activity. The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome will allow additional class space to ensure all of our Jr. High students engage in a structured physical education class.
The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome will allow Lo-Ma to no longer be the ONLY school in Harrison County and the ONLY school district in the Western Iowa Conference without a second competitive gym to allow for Varsity & JV play simultaneously, and will allow Lo-Ma to host state qualifying events like sectional wrestling and regional basketball games that it cannot host presently.
The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome is the most cost-efficient option for a second gym (as both construction cost and heating/cooling are cheaper than a more traditional gym) and not only will act as a multi-use classroom but also will prevent our students from being disadvantaged with insufficient physical education instruction and practice time compared to other districts.
The varsity basketball season lasts four months and Lo-Ma only has one regulation sized court in the district (the existing high school gym (84’ x 50’)) for both boys and girls to practice on, in addition to hosting Jr. High basketball games and wrestling meets, and holding winter band/choir concerts. The elementary multi-purpose room/gym is not regulation size, and has tile floor with court dimensions of 65’ x 50’. During the regular season, the varsity girls’ basketball team is only able to hold 8 full practices in the high school gym at normal time (4pm-6pm). The varsity boys’ basketball team has only been able to practice half the time in the high school gym this season, and only 6 of those are full practices immediately after school at normal time (4pm-6pm). The proposed additional gym/Panther Dome will allow both boys and girls teams to practice on a regulation-sized court immediately after school throughout the four-month season.
The benefits of extracurricular activities (activities pursued in addition to the normal course of study) are well-documented: improved academic performance, higher self-esteem, resume builders, increased social opportunities and the ability to explore interests and create broader perspectives.
GO TO THE COURTHOUSE NOW OR TO THE POLL ON MARCH 1 (or Feb 24th at the School) AND VOTE FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR STUDENTS, OUR SCHOOL, AND OUR COMMUNITIES.
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