MONROE - Safety and maintenance issues could add more than $600,000 per year to a three-year referendum, according to Monroe school district's Business Manager Ron Olson.
At the school board's meeting Monday, Olson provided estimated costs for safety-related and maintenance items ranked by their priority level, as determined by administrators.
If the board chose to include most of the first- and second-priority items in a referendum, Olson said it would add about $590,000 per year onto the previously estimated $1.6 or $1.8 million per year for a three-year referendum. With a couple other safety and maintenance items, it could cost about $630,000 per year on top of the $1.6 to $1.8 million.
These additional costs could be included in a single referendum question on the ballot, or the district could opt to ask two or more questions, with one being the base amount needed to maintain the district and another one or two that ask for funding to specific areas such as safety and/or maintenance.
"I think it's good to give some people a choice to have a question that says, "This is what we need to maintain what we have,' and then "Here's additional things that we feel we need - do you also support us having these?'" Olson said. "My thought process would be two questions makes sense."
He noted a single referendum question with a flat number can be easier to explain.
Board member Les Bieneman said he liked the idea of two questions, but board treasurer Brian Keith suggested three questions - giving safety its own question instead of being lumped in with maintenance - might
be better.
"I think that the maintenance items ... people would understand you have to do it," Keith said. "I'll be honest, I think that while we probably agree safety is probably as important as the maintenance, I'm not sure that our community is going to say that."
Top-priority safety items are installing bollards, or short vertical posts, in front of building entrance areas at all district buildings, a new phone system and minor changes to secure building entrances. Olson said the new phone system is the biggest immediate concern.
He estimates the phone system would cost about $500,000 in total, as would security upgrades at all building entrances, which include buzzing systems at building entrances. Securing entrances doesn't include any architectural changes, Olson said.
The bollards would protect against anyone crashing a car into school buildings - Olson said there have been a couple instances in the last few decades of someone almost driving into a school building - and would cost a total of about $10,000 to install at all five schools.
Installing security camera systems at Monroe Middle School and the district's three elementary schools made the list as second-priority safety items, estimated to cost $40,000 each at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy and Northside, $50,000 at Parkside and $80,000 at MMS.
Maintenance items deemed top-priority are the Parkside roof, the MMS clocktower and the Monroe High School track. A section of the MMS roof was included on the list as second-priority, along with the front wall and drive at Parkside and maintenance and delivery trucks. Olson said the roof projects could be a higher priority than the track.
Olson estimates the Parkside roof would cost $200,000, the clocktower would cost $80,000 and the track would cost $185,000.
Items that administrators deemed non-priority include installing an access card system for main entrances at elementary schools, installing classroom locks and replacing the high school tennis courts.
The school board could choose to include any combination of the projects in the referendum, but Olson cautioned against asking for too large a referendum.
The board is expected to continue the discussion on a referendum at the next meeting.
At the school board's meeting Monday, Olson provided estimated costs for safety-related and maintenance items ranked by their priority level, as determined by administrators.
If the board chose to include most of the first- and second-priority items in a referendum, Olson said it would add about $590,000 per year onto the previously estimated $1.6 or $1.8 million per year for a three-year referendum. With a couple other safety and maintenance items, it could cost about $630,000 per year on top of the $1.6 to $1.8 million.
These additional costs could be included in a single referendum question on the ballot, or the district could opt to ask two or more questions, with one being the base amount needed to maintain the district and another one or two that ask for funding to specific areas such as safety and/or maintenance.
"I think it's good to give some people a choice to have a question that says, "This is what we need to maintain what we have,' and then "Here's additional things that we feel we need - do you also support us having these?'" Olson said. "My thought process would be two questions makes sense."
He noted a single referendum question with a flat number can be easier to explain.
Board member Les Bieneman said he liked the idea of two questions, but board treasurer Brian Keith suggested three questions - giving safety its own question instead of being lumped in with maintenance - might
be better.
"I think that the maintenance items ... people would understand you have to do it," Keith said. "I'll be honest, I think that while we probably agree safety is probably as important as the maintenance, I'm not sure that our community is going to say that."
Top-priority safety items are installing bollards, or short vertical posts, in front of building entrance areas at all district buildings, a new phone system and minor changes to secure building entrances. Olson said the new phone system is the biggest immediate concern.
He estimates the phone system would cost about $500,000 in total, as would security upgrades at all building entrances, which include buzzing systems at building entrances. Securing entrances doesn't include any architectural changes, Olson said.
The bollards would protect against anyone crashing a car into school buildings - Olson said there have been a couple instances in the last few decades of someone almost driving into a school building - and would cost a total of about $10,000 to install at all five schools.
Installing security camera systems at Monroe Middle School and the district's three elementary schools made the list as second-priority safety items, estimated to cost $40,000 each at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy and Northside, $50,000 at Parkside and $80,000 at MMS.
Maintenance items deemed top-priority are the Parkside roof, the MMS clocktower and the Monroe High School track. A section of the MMS roof was included on the list as second-priority, along with the front wall and drive at Parkside and maintenance and delivery trucks. Olson said the roof projects could be a higher priority than the track.
Olson estimates the Parkside roof would cost $200,000, the clocktower would cost $80,000 and the track would cost $185,000.
Items that administrators deemed non-priority include installing an access card system for main entrances at elementary schools, installing classroom locks and replacing the high school tennis courts.
The school board could choose to include any combination of the projects in the referendum, but Olson cautioned against asking for too large a referendum.
The board is expected to continue the discussion on a referendum at the next meeting.