Sports: Fillies volleyball advances in tourney See B1
The Weekender Saturday, November 1, 2014
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Putting children first: Will it be new schools? Continued maintenance of old buildings robs funds for students, teachers
How we got here; Building new would be a first since 1950
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
In a season long on meetings, but never short on patience, USD 257 Superintendent of Schools Jack Koehn hosted what was the final community forum before Tuesday’s election that will determine the direction of Iola schools. A sedate crowd of about 30 gathered in the gymnasium at McKinley Elementary to hear Koehn — aided by Kirk Horner of Hollis and Miller, the proposed architects, and financial adviser Steve Shogren — deliver a point-by-point presentation in favor of the upcoming bond issue. Thursday’s forum was a change to the usual format. While administrators and experts continued to field questions from the floor, they also met individually with members of the audience after the event, and remained until all questions were answered. Tables were arrayed around the perimeter of the gymnasium staffed with those in the know, including Steve Smith of Universal Construction; Scott Stanley, operations and maintenance director; Tony Leavitt, school board president; Don Snavely, vice president of the board, and Susan Raines, executive director of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. Koehn spent the first part of his hour-long presentation enumerating the needs of the district and the last half batting back many of the rumors that continue to accumulate as Election Day nears. Among the problems with the current multi-campus system are: • The “inappropriate and inadequate” spaces being used for special education; • Disproportionate class sizes; • Unequal access to technology between the elementary schools; • The difficulty for teachers to collaborate on lesson plans and activities • ADA non-compliance. “If the bond issue doesn’t pass, I can almost guarantee you that we have a very good chance of being investigated by the office of civil rights.” • Increasing maintenance costs due to old roofs, buckled floors, and rampant mold. • Supporting a fleet of buses that meets the state’s standards • Keeping pace with area schools when it comes to technology, for students and teachers both. “I don’t know of another district that doesn’t have laptops for its teachers,” Koehn said; • Inefficient utility costs. “We consume 34 percent more energy per square foot than schools around us that were built between 2008 and 2011.” All of the heating and cooling units are on life support. • Outmoded storm shelters. No school in Iola is designed to stand
The first school to be built in Iola was in 1868. Jumping ahead to 1916, here’s a record of the success and defeat of bond elections to either renovate or build new schools. 1916 — Iola High School built ($100,000) 1939 — Jefferson and Lincoln elementary schools built ($319,000-$173,422 federal WPA funds) 1950 — McKinley Elementary built ($230,000) 1979 — Voters reject a $5.9 million bond issue to build a new high school north of town. 1980 — Voters approve $810,000 remodel project 1985 — Voters defeat a $5.9 million bond issue to build a new high school. 1988 — Voters approve $3.7 million to renovate the high school (26 percent of bond and interest came from state) 1993 — Voters approve a $4.97 million remodel project for Iola Middle School (46 percent of bond and interest came from state) Fall 2008 — Facilities committee recommends allschool campus, with a common area for gymnasiums and associated facilities, with a central kitchen and dining areas, as well as a community center and indoor swimming pool at a projected cost of $112 million. Monies would have come from a 35-mill property tax increase and 1-cent sales taxes from Iola and Gas. A long list of physical deficiencies was compiled by a facilities committee that met for several months earlier this year. They found glaring needs such as classroom configuration and size at all levels; inability to deliver cutting edge technology support and education; too little space for special education; no nurse stations except in the middle school; buildings so aged they require intensive maintenance; traffic and parking problems; landlocked buildings that make expansion or adequate outdoor facilities difficult or impossible; and safety concerns. December 2008 — USD 257 school board members unanimously vote to postpone a February 2009 vote on an all-schools campus “until economic conditions improve.” Spring 2014 — School board members propose a $35 million bond project to build a new elementary school, and complete $10 million worth of renovations to Iola High School and Iola Middle School. Summer 2014 — Upon passage of a new school finance bill, school board members rescind bond proposal for a more comprehensive plan, to build new elementary and high schools on the north edge of Iola. They favor a $50 million bond package to build new over a $56 million renovation price tag. The board also acquires an option to purchase 96 acres along Oregon Road for $521,000 if the bond is approved. The bond, to be voted on Tuesday, includes financing through a net 9-mill property tax increase and a half-cent sales tax to be split with Iola and state aid.
See FORUM | Page A6
Saving the best for last ...
Dole wraps up tour with stop in Iola By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, left, reacts to former Senator Bob Dole talking to Jefferson Elementary Students Thursday afternoon at St. John’s Parish Hall during his Coming Home Tour. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 6
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole marked off Allen County as his 104th county stop in his Coming Home Tour Thursday afternoon. Dole appeared at St. John’s Parish Hall to visit with Allen Countains and endorse Lynn Jenkins and Pat Roberts in the upcoming election. “I’m not a politician anymore but I still go to the law office and do some work,” he said. “I work on disability and with veterans.”
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James 75 Cents
On Saturday Dole, 91, will join the Republican Party on its bus tour. “I’m not running for election but I thought I would go along for the ride,” he said. Dole talked about his proudest moment in his political career as working for the preservation of Social Security. He also talked about “Dolls for Dole,” women who helped campaign for him. “I was running against a man named Doyl and people didn’t know the difference,” he said. “The Dolls would See DOLE | Page A6
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