The Board of Education has facilitated a "Bond Advisory Committee" for the Past 2 years. Over 40 individual community members have served and attended meetings. The committee was tasked with answering two questions:
What is best for West Marshall as a School District?
What is best for our students TODAY and TOMORROW?
After careful study, the committee determined that the most practical, student-focused, and cost-effective solution is the one supported by this bond. Replace the 1923 building and connect it to the existing facilities to preserve valuable spaces like the kitchen, lunchroom, and gym that would be expensive to rebuild. The plan also includes a new CTE addition that links the middle and high schools.
The district has been reserving S.A.V.E money while also paying down the debt on the 2012 middle school, which included a $500,000 savings on a refinancing to allow for an early pay-off! The middle school debt is projected to be paid off in less than two years.
The stockpiled S.A.V.E. funds will be combined it with the PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy) bond money for the most responsible solution.
Below are the two guiding questions, which remained at the forefront of the bond-committee's purpose and planning!
1. What is best for West Marshall as a School District?
1. What is best for West Marshall as a School District?
a. Will we be able to maintain student and parent desires to attend with the necessary classroom spaces and learning centers?
b. Will we continue as is, knowing housing development is limited and families are choosing other public or private school options?
2. What is best for our students TODAY and TOMORROW?
2. What is best for our students TODAY and TOMORROW?
a. Will we have the money available to simply repair what we have, and is this money best spent on these repairs?
b. Have we outgrown our learning spaces? Our elementary was built in 1923, and currently, our learning spaces are 50%–75% the size of typical classroom spaces built today. Students attending schools built since 2000 use classrooms that include not only desks in rows, but also various centers for hands-on, small-group, and independent learning—allowing all learners flexible options. As research has proven, we know all students learn differently.
c. Teachers today are trained to teach in flexible learning environments. When choosing where to begin their careers, many are selecting districts with modernized classrooms—designed to meet the diverse needs of all students, not the outdated “sit-and-get” model with limited hands-on learning, small-group instruction, or problem-solving activities.
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