For Brandon Quinn and Cara Baumgardner, it’s a no-brainer.
Quinn is the father of two kids who go to Mark Twain Elementary and Baumgardner is a teacher there.
The Hannibal school district plans to replace the 106-year-old facility, build an Early Childhood Center and do work at other facilities as part of a $13 million bond issue that goes before voters April 6.
There would be no tax increase and the issue requires a 57 percent majority for passage.
“I’m going to tell everybody I know to vote for it,” said Quinn, who has a third child that attended Mark Twain. “I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while.”
“I’m excited,” said Baumgardner, who teaches third grade. “It’s going to mean more class space, more storage space, a more climate-controlled environment and a better overall educational opportunity for students.”
Superintendent Dr. Jill Janes said the district will be able to do the work without raising taxes because it has been fiscally responsible, planned well, saved money by paying off past debts early and taken advantage of low interest rates.
“We truly care about the pocketbooks of our community,” Janes said. “We pay taxes, too. We don’t stretch ourselves to the limit.”
The new, one-story Mark Twain would be built across the street from the current three-story building at 2714 Bird.
Estimated cost of the 44,000-square-foot facility is $7.5 million. It would house 360 students, which is 50 more than the current population.
Janes said the new facility also would be more cost efficient to run, provide expanded student loading zones, be disabled-accessible and offer better safety.
Quinn and Baumgardner are thankful.
Quinn calls the daily traffic jams along narrow streets surrounding the school “a nightmare” and some of Baumgardner’s colleagues say they have to crank the heat in the winter while others say they’re so hot they can hardly stand it.
The one-story, 26,000-square-foot Early Childhood Center would be built south of Veterans Elementary near the water tower.
It would house 250 students and 60 staff. Janes said the district could get reimbursed for 40 percent of the $4 million estimated cost through state funding.
She added that construction would free up space at the elementaries, allow for development of an alternative school, provide space for the Parents As Teachers program and address accessibility problems.
“We really feel like we can expand parent services with that building,” Janes said.
The bond issue also would pay for smaller projects to include wall repairs, exterior renovations, new equipment and steps to address safety concerns at other attendance centers.
Janes presented a list of more than 75 projects completed around the district in the last 10 years as proof that administrators are addressing concerns.
Meanwhile, the board has rolled back taxes by a total of more than $3.50 per $100 assessed valuation in the last seven years.
Janes hopes for at least the 83 percent approval the district got for the bond issue in 2005 that helped build Stowell Elementary.
“This plan takes into account needs in all the schools,” she said. “Priorities have been identified for each school. We really need the support.”
If voters OK the bond issue, the district would start projects later this year and be finished in summer 2013.
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For Brandon Quinn and Cara Baumgardner, it’s a no-brainer.
Quinn is the father of two kids who go to Mark Twain Elementary and Baumgardner is a teacher there.
The Hannibal school district plans to replace the 106-year-old facility, build an Early Childhood Center and do work at other facilities as part of a $13 million bond issue that goes before voters April 6.
There would be no tax increase and the issue requires a 57 percent majority for passage.
“I’m going to tell everybody I know to vote for it,” said Quinn, who has a third child that attended Mark Twain. “I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while.”
“I’m excited,” said Baumgardner, who teaches third grade. “It’s going to mean more class space, more storage space, a more climate-controlled environment and a better overall educational opportunity for students.”
Superintendent Dr. Jill Janes said the district will be able to do the work without raising taxes because it has been fiscally responsible, planned well, saved money by paying off past debts early and taken advantage of low interest rates.
“We truly care about the pocketbooks of our community,” Janes said. “We pay taxes, too. We don’t stretch ourselves to the limit.”
The new, one-story Mark Twain would be built across the street from the current three-story building at 2714 Bird.
Estimated cost of the 44,000-square-foot facility is $7.5 million. It would house 360 students, which is 50 more than the current population.
Janes said the new facility also would be more cost efficient to run, provide expanded student loading zones, be disabled-accessible and offer better safety.
Quinn and Baumgardner are thankful.
Quinn calls the daily traffic jams along narrow streets surrounding the school “a nightmare” and some of Baumgardner’s colleagues say they have to crank the heat in the winter while others say they’re so hot they can hardly stand it.
The one-story, 26,000-square-foot Early Childhood Center would be built south of Veterans Elementary near the water tower.
It would house 250 students and 60 staff. Janes said the district could get reimbursed for 40 percent of the $4 million estimated cost through state funding.
She added that construction would free up space at the elementaries, allow for development of an alternative school, provide space for the Parents As Teachers program and address accessibility problems.
“We really feel like we can expand parent services with that building,” Janes said.
The bond issue also would pay for smaller projects to include wall repairs, exterior renovations, new equipment and steps to address safety concerns at other attendance centers.
Janes presented a list of more than 75 projects completed around the district in the last 10 years as proof that administrators are addressing concerns.
Meanwhile, the board has rolled back taxes by a total of more than $3.50 per $100 assessed valuation in the last seven years.
Janes hopes for at least the 83 percent approval the district got for the bond issue in 2005 that helped build Stowell Elementary.
“This plan takes into account needs in all the schools,” she said. “Priorities have been identified for each school. We really need the support.”
If voters OK the bond issue, the district would start projects later this year and be finished in summer 2013.
