There is support for a new Junction City High School project.
It does not appear unanimous, but as members of the JCHS Steering Committee learn more about the project, particularly the proposed financing method which would result in no increase or a very small increase in the property tax levy, the support is growing.
Robert Munson was one who listened to a presentation Thursday evening by district staff and architects. He called it a unique opportunity that exists here . He cited the projected $45 million in federal heavily impacted aid the district expects to receive, and the state aid formula that would provide 48% of the funding for a project. Munson stated, “The time is now to do a project like this.” He added there is an opportunity to do good things in the community with the way the finances are structured here.
City Commissioner Pat Landes observed the negative views on this project are due in part to the past, but he noted the City is now paying their debt and the biggest part will be retired by 2029. This year the City fixed streets with no debt. Landes said people have to separate the past with what this project is, and observed, “we’re providing something for our kids.”
Mayor Mick McCallister noted that he has received 33 telephone calls on the topic this week, and in 25 of them he couldn’t get a word in edge-wise. He stated people are looking at the past and do not want more debt. McCallister said the communication and education effort is not reaching the people who are going to vote. It has to be an educational effort.
Others noted that this is for the youth of the community, kids need something to be proud of, and that the focus should be on the youth and not on what happened in 2008.
Mark Edwards, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, noted that he felt you are either for the project or you are not. “We owe it to our community. This is federal money, military money, coming to our community.” And he added the military is watching, and would like to see a world class high school here. Edwards urged the committee and school officials to look at who votes, adding if there is not a great job of selling this to voters “we’ll run out of opportunity here.”
Cost estimates on a new school range from $85 million to $105 million. The project could be undertaken with no increase in the property tax levy, or there are options that could increase the levy by either two or four mills, depending on the size of the school and the location. The site could be at the current JCHS location or on the west side of the city where two 160 acre tracts of land have been identified.
One idea that received mention is that it would be a hard sell to tear down the Al Simpler Stadium, and perhaps that location on the current JCHS site could be made into a sports area. Then as an example, tennis courts and a football field would not have to developed at a new site on the west side of town. At this point no final decisions have been made on that.
The committee did vote by show of hands to move back the time frame on submitting their recommendation on the school project. Instead of going to the BOE in January, a majority of the committee voted to submit the recommendation in February. The Committee wanted to push the recommendation back to a later date to allow more time for a town hall meeting, where more of the information they have heard can be shared with the community before going to the Board of Education.
Upcoming meetings for committee members include a tour of Fort Riley Middle School on December 8th, and a regular committee meeting at the senior high on December 15th.
