Voters say no to Prairie Grove proposal
From The Northwest Herald
By BRANDON COUTRE
PRAIRIE GROVE – A deal for a new school sounded too good to be true for voters living within School District 46.
District officials said they could build a junior high school and improve existing buildings without raising the district's tax rate.
But voters on Tuesday didn't buy the proposal to grant the district authority to issue $18 million in bonds to fund the new school. Unofficial election results put the vote at 465 yes to 924 no.
Blossoming home development and developer impact fees would have kept the tax rate stable,
Superintendent Mary Fasbender said.
"We had the opportunity to do it the right way," Fasbender said. "Now, we might have to look at portable classrooms. We have a duty to educate the children no matter what the numbers are."
Fasbender said stalling to build a school could end up costing $5 million more with rising interest rates and construction costs.
Members of an anti-referendum campaign, which included Prairie Grove Village President Michael Breseman, past District 46 Finance Committee member Jim Bossemeyer, and current school board member Charlotte Kremer, agreed that a new school would be needed at some point but not yet. They questioned the district's claim that the tax rate would remain at 24 cents per $100 assessed value for bonded indebtedness.
Kremer said the district should expand existing buildings and then develop a long-term plan that could include a new building.
Cindy Kovalic, the district's Parent-Teacher Organization president who opposed the referendum, though she said her stance was not representative of the PTO organization, said the district needs to work together as it addresses growth.
"Voters want the district to be more forthcoming, accurate and responsible in its reasoning for building a new school," she said.
By BRANDON COUTRE
PRAIRIE GROVE – A deal for a new school sounded too good to be true for voters living within School District 46.
District officials said they could build a junior high school and improve existing buildings without raising the district's tax rate.
But voters on Tuesday didn't buy the proposal to grant the district authority to issue $18 million in bonds to fund the new school. Unofficial election results put the vote at 465 yes to 924 no.
Blossoming home development and developer impact fees would have kept the tax rate stable,
Superintendent Mary Fasbender said.
"We had the opportunity to do it the right way," Fasbender said. "Now, we might have to look at portable classrooms. We have a duty to educate the children no matter what the numbers are."
Fasbender said stalling to build a school could end up costing $5 million more with rising interest rates and construction costs.
Members of an anti-referendum campaign, which included Prairie Grove Village President Michael Breseman, past District 46 Finance Committee member Jim Bossemeyer, and current school board member Charlotte Kremer, agreed that a new school would be needed at some point but not yet. They questioned the district's claim that the tax rate would remain at 24 cents per $100 assessed value for bonded indebtedness.
Kremer said the district should expand existing buildings and then develop a long-term plan that could include a new building.
Cindy Kovalic, the district's Parent-Teacher Organization president who opposed the referendum, though she said her stance was not representative of the PTO organization, said the district needs to work together as it addresses growth.
"Voters want the district to be more forthcoming, accurate and responsible in its reasoning for building a new school," she said.
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