After failing by 7 votes, Mt. Vernon school board seeks new bond issue for April 2020 election

Second chance for education entity to address buildings with major structural issues, multiple leaky roofs throughout district
 
The Mt. Vernon Board of Education voted in favor of proposing a special school bond for this coming general election during the regular monthly meeting that took place Dec. 19. The bond is planned to be on the ballot for the upcoming general election held April 7, 2020. In the months since the April 2019 election, when Proposition Mt’neer Strong failed by only seven votes, Mt. Vernon schools were given a good amount of feedback from the community about their concerns with the bond issue. A year later, Mt. Vernon School District is ready to make another attempt with Proposition MVS.
Proposition MVS
• Proposition MVS would increase the debt service levy by $.35. The current levy is $.57 and after the increase the new debt service levy would be $.92. It is projected that this levy increase would generate $11.5 million in 2020. The increase would raise the overall levy from $3.32 to $3.67 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
• Proposition MVS also will include some security upgrades at every campus entry as well as fixing multiple, major roof issues and fixing some significant structural stability concerns at the middle school campus. Proposition MVS would also be used to stabilize the mezzanine level in the high school gym by allowing construction of a ground level strength and conditioning room. The weights classes are currently being held in the east hallway behind the gym due to the original weight room structurally not being capable of accommodating of the weight of the equipment.
• There are safety concerns with the schools that will also be addressed provided that Proposition MVS passes. They include: electrical upgrades for unsafe and inadequate electric systems at the three oldest campuses; and fire alarm systems will be added. Currently there is not a fire alarm system installed. Several exterior doors would be replaced that are no longer operating at acceptable levels along with replacing some of the aging floors in the south campus. The removal of deteriorating unused buildings at elementary and middle school would also be a priority.
• Proposition MVS would allow for a new early childhood center on the elementary campus to accommodate the rapidly growing preschool program. Currently there are many children on a wait list due to the lack of space. The increased levy would also allow for the expansion and renovation of the vocational agriculture center. In other news…
This semester there will also be a few changes made in order to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Support staff at the schools will now be required to clock in and out each day. This is projected to begin in February with custodial and maintenance staff and will provide a chance for the school to work out the details before all other support staff will be required to meet the new mandates beginning in July of 2020.
Audit approval…
The board also approved the audit for 2019. Overall the audit was very positive. The auditors recommended the school to focus on improving cybersecurity and the budgetary policy. These are areas that the district will be looking for ways to improve in the upcoming months.
Election…
Updates were also given for the upcoming school board election.  December 17, was the first day of the filing period for the 2020 school board election. The election date is April 7, 2020. The terms for John Cowherd, Gene Ingle and Ron Schmidly expire this spring. As of Dec. 20, the candidates who have filed are Jeremy Pendleton, John Cowherd, Trevor Coquillard, Justin Bellis and Nick Scott. The filing period will end Jan. 21, 2020.
Closed session…
In closed session, the board accepted a retirement letter from Dulcie Price, intermediate school principal. Her retirement will be in effect at the end of this school year. Price has been the only principal at the intermediate school since it opened in 2008 and has been part of administration for 12 years. The board also accepted resignation from Linda Powers. Powers is currently a special education paraprofessional at the elementary school.
Next meeting..
The next Mt. Vernon R-V School Board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the south campus board room.