Perry County School District 32 superintendent Dr. Fara Jones led a public forum on Proposition K.I.D.S. Wednesday evening in which the district stressed to voters the limited time frame it has to receive the money FEMA has allocated for a new high school building. Jones, along with school board member Kevin Bachmann took questions and comments from community members both for and against the levy.
Jones said that while they have it officially in writing that FEMA will provide $25 million for the project, they need the money that Prop K.I.D.S will generate up front so they can begin the project, as FEMA money can only be reimbursed once it is spent, and if the proposition fails to pass, they could end up losing out on the FEMA money as the project has to begin within a specific time frame to qualify for the reimbursements.
“This is a now-or-never proposition,” Jones said. “There’s a timeframe on FEMA. FEMA has a 48-month timeline to complete this project, to complete any recovery project. Any of you that’ve worked with FEMA projects are aware of that. If Prop K.I.D.S. passes this time, our construction team estimates that the high school will be completed hopefully in January of 2029.”
Jones added that if the proposition passes, the project would be able to be broken into several phases, with reimbursement money from each phase being used to fund the next one until the final phase is completed.
She said that while this is still a tax increase, it is significantly less than the one that failed to pass in April. She asked the voters to look at this levy as an investment into the future of education of the community, adding that the school was in need of repairs anyway before the tornado, and that they now have an opportunity to build a modern school of a similar size as the old school, for much less money than what one would typically cost.
“In that same footprint we’re going to get a state- of-the-art $60 million building for a $35 million local investment, that’s 40 percent off. That’s a pretty good deal,” Jones said. “If the tornado had not hit, we still would have been in need of improvements to that building. And we still would have most likely needed some community support for that. But this time, because the tornado did hit, we could get a new school that FEMA agrees is better to replace than to repair what was there. At 40 percent less cost to taxpayers.”
Opposition to the levy in attendance at the meeting asked why money generated from the 2017 proposition did not go to the High school before the tornado if the school board knew it was already in bad shape. Jones and Bachmann explained that the money from 2017 went to building the Primary Center and remodeling the Middle School, because at the time those projects were deemed more urgent than renovating the High School.
Those opposed to the levy also asked how much money would be coming in from insurance, to which Dr. Jones explained that the insurance company the school is with, the Missouri United school Insurance Consortium, had them enter into a non-disclosure agreement, legally preventing them from disclosing that amount.
The opposition also had questions about the scheduled sunsetting of the levy in 2046, asking the school board if there was anything stopping them from extending the levy further. Jones explained that it is a possibility that the levy could be extended further, but that it was unlikely because it would have to go through a vote first.
Attendees to the forum who were in support of the levy responded to the opposition’s questions by stressing the need to have a permanent school building, and the opportunity that the FEMA funds can provide.
“Right now we have kids that are going to school under 10, in an old senior high, and in a barn. Our whole goal of this is getting a high school, a new high school that the kids of this community deserve,” One attendee said. “At the end of the day our community is going to need a high school. We have a once in a life chance here to get a brand new school for 35 million dollars and We’ve already said we’re going to kick in the FEMA for that so again 35 million others from the taxpayers. I understand this is a controversial issue. I want everyone to realize, at the end of the day, we are here for kids.”
Jones urged voters to take part in absentee voting as the August 4th election is during the “dead week” in which there are no school activities or athletics scheduled, and a lot of families with kids in the district take vacations during that time.
Perry County School District 32 will host two more opportunities for community members to learn more about the Proposition K.I.D.S. ballot measure prior to the Aug. 4 Primary Election.
Prop K.I.D.S. Community Engagement
6:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 22
Perry Park Center Theatre
Superintendent Dr. Fara Jones will provide a brief presentation about Prop K.I.D.S. and the proposed PHS construction project, followed by a Q&A.
Prop K.I.D.S. Open House
7-8 p.m., Wednesday, July 29
PHS Learning Expo
The Learning Expo will be open for tours. Members of the District 32 Board of Education and Administration will be available to answer questions about Prop. K.I.D.S. and the proposed PHS construction project. Light refreshments will be served. Please note: there is a road closure adjacent next to the Expo, but the parking lot is accessible from College St.
Members of the community are cordially invited to attend these events. Absentee voting for the Aug. 4 Primary is currently open in Perry County.
