School districts officials are asking district voters to approve a 2.6 mills, 34-year bond issue to fund various additions to the school building.
District residents will vote on the issue on Nov. 6.
The funds generated would be used for a new, 30-year roof for the entire campus, 10 new classrooms to house grades pre-K to three, two new special education rooms, one new music/art room, offices for occupational and physical therapy services, new boys and girls restrooms, 15-foot expansion of the cafeteria, including new floor and asbestos removal and an elevator to the second floor of the high school to make it handicapped-accessible.
If the bond issue is passed, it would cost the owner of a $100,000 home between $6 and $7 per month.
All students from pre-K to 12 would be moved inside, meaning the modulars would be sold or demolished.
Superintendent David Stubblebine has said the current roof is out of warranty and badly leaking. The cost for a new roof is roughly $1 million, he said. Stubblebine also said the present cafeteria floor is cracked, uneven and contains asbestos.
The modular classrooms are deteriorating and pose a security threat, the superintendent said.
Stubblebine has said the district needs voters to approve the bond issue; the current permanent improvement levy raises about $87,000 per year, nowhere close to cover these costs.
It would take 11 1/2 years just to replace the roof using permanent improvement money if none of it were spent on anything else, Stubblebine added.
"No one wants to ask the community for more money," Stubblebine said. "That's the last thing a superintendent wants to do. But this proposal is reasonable and small and addresses the pressing issues we are facing for a generation."
Stubblebine said some residents are asking, "Why now?"
"Because we need it," he said. "That's the bottom line."
Comments
(In the loud voice) Hey David! You want this to pass?!?!? Make ALL pay for sch@@l taxes instead of some! What you did last time stunk!
30 year roof. 34 years to pay it off makes sense to me!
I have to say, to the voters in Monroeville... this tax will not affect me in any way , personally, but I have to tell you, that as a member of a neighboring community, I think that you are short changing the youth of your community.
Look at all of the communities around you, nearly every one of them has a new and better school, campus that makes it more conducive for the kids to learn in. They are the leaders of tomorrow, They will take care of you and your community in your coming years, Please think of what is best for them, and not what seems like it is best for you, because by helping to form their futures, you are also helping to form your own.
I know that this is only an improvement tax.. and not a tax to build a new and better campus..I will also say that I am not overly impressed with your Superintendent, BUT please do NOT punish the kids, and you own future because you can not get this man to understand what is and what is not important to you...The bottom line is that the Kids are important, and their education is important.Please give some thought to them, before you cast your "anti Superintendent and his policies" vote. They are a reflection of their surroundings. If it appears that no one in the community cares enough to at least fix up their school buildings, and provide a good and respectable arena for them to learn what they need for the future, how can you expect their thoughts and feelings about themselves and their community , to be as bright and fulfilling as we really want them to feel.
All I am asking, is for the voters in Monroeville to consider the negative connections that go along with their "NO" vote for the school improvement levy..Compared to what it will actually cost you out of your own pocket, is it worth it, compared to what it is costing you in connection to the attitude and feeling that you are showing the kids, that you just don't care enough about them to support them.
This is only the first step in changing things, but i feel that if you would pass this, for them, it would start an upward trend in the process of making it obvious that you do care about them, and their futures.. and then, by all means "hash it out with the school board" any disagreements and concerns that you have about the way that things are, and have been, but Please, do not punish generations of kids, because of disagreements with some people today....
Swiss,I am in shock,i agree with you once !I ran into Chick the other day and we were saying how much fun it was growing up n Monroeville.It was just like Happy Days.What happened to our fond memories?
Jack......"welcome to the "Dark Side" lololol
Hash it out with the school board? swiss, do you know what you are saying? they have misspent and lied how they were to spend the levy monies,if it was you paying the taxes maybe (I doubt it)you would have a different perspective on this,the people of Monroeville already pay I think,on 2 levies and one will drop off soon plus 1 1/2% income tax, you see the populis of the town is probably 40% retired which means 0 income tax for the school,so who picks it up? the working stiff! I will not vote for a school levy.
New stuff for a dying town. Can't even buy an ounce of hamburger there. What they got, 660 students or so in high school, jr. high, and elementary school? school isn't big enough to draw in the state fund. Town isn't big enough and doesn't have enough busines to fund the taxes. Maybe the Dollar store will save you all.
Why don't some of the dads get over there like the Amish and work on the school. Once the government gets ahold of the money, it gets wasted on blueprints, quotes, surveys, and wasted political overhead. We can put roofs on churches, but not on schools. Get the towns men out to work on the school like WE used to. They just did pass an income tax not too long ago. Waste. Heck, they even had a talent contest a month ago for homecoming. Lots of kids worked hard for hours on it. School determined it was a four way tie. Too close to call. Not much for a kid to put on the college application..."I tied for 1st in a school talent show with 3 others". If they can't decide that simple thing, they shouldn't be handleing the money. Tear down the school and send them to other schools. The story is too old and the total taxes too high in a town with no hamburger.
Why not just ask for a new school? This levy would have a good chance of passing if the school wouldn"t ask for so much! How about a new roof and remove the asbestos and replace the modulars outside but know they want too many extras at one time. do they really need a new music room and offices for occupational and physical therapy services? spend spend spend...
Fix a roof that a levy was already passed a while back was to fix this same roof,then pass an income tax on the small working people of the district that people were told it was not to give raises which were given anyway,man,you people spending the public's tax money don't have a clue.If what I read in the paper is true about the farm ground taxes going up like they say,you should have plenty of money coming in and if I remember correctly didn't they say when they passed the income tax they wouldn't need any more money?
In 1997 the state supreme court ruled that the current method of funding schools was unconstitutional. Property tax is not the correct or best way to fund schools. Schools have had 15 years to focus on finding new methods for funding and have failed. It certainly did not take them that long to get Senate Bill 5 repealed. If the schools, teachers, and unions would focus their efforts on finding a fair way to fund schools where everyone was taxed it would not be an issue. Oh and by the way hit the road jack, you are correct.
I'm sorry to see all the negative & untrue comments about why this levy should fail. Monroeville is no different than any other school in the area. At some point in time, all districts must come to taxpayers to ask for money. Yes, the current method of funding schools is unconstitutional. However, that is not a problem that can be solved by the schools. Maybe efforts should be placed on electing people to office who will work to find a fair way to finance public education. In my opinion, the price of public education falls on all of us. We are all responsible to help pay for it. Someone helped pay your "way" through school. Shouldn't you do the same for the next generation? The district is asking for a small amount of money. It's cheaper than some "value meals" at McDonalds.
@ Snoozer...You questioned the need for occupational & physical therapy rooms. They ARE needed. How would you feel if your son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter needed these services? Currently, the occupational & physical therapist pull children into the cafeteria or any other area of unused space to provide these services and last time I checked the cafeteria was not the best place to provide therapy services.
In short, Monroeville does a great job utilizing the space they have but they need more. Most schools in the area are new. Monroeville simply wants to maintain and add on to what they already have. I strongly encourage everyone to think of the kids and their needs when voting on November 6th.
If it was about the kids, it would be said and done. The kids aren't the case.
seems to me i remember them saying they would let the bond go for a school tax and here we are a couple years down the road and we want another bond.I live close to this school why don't we try closing the doors at a normal time this school is open all hours of the day and nite. It is not uncommon to go past at 11pm and see people coming outtry saving money by closing it at 4pm like the old days or maybe use some of the day care money (no kid needs to be in school at 3yrs. old i'm tired of paying for people that waste what is given to them.
But we need the school open for practice in sports. Basketball has been going on since spring ended last year. Baseball and softball for next spring is already going on. Someone said that if you didn't do the open gyms stuff, you'd be at a disadvantage to the ones that are at these "not mandatory practices" which could later jeopardize the team and coach's standinng if it were proven he or she implied this according to the state rules. So we need the lights on at 8 pm and the lights on at 6:15 am (boys basketball) and we need our kids there so we adults can have a cheap babysitter. WE need MORE SOCIALISM AND LESS FAMILY. IT TAKES A VILLAGE, don't ya know?
Maybe someone on here can answer my question, If Monroeville has open enrollment does this mean anyone from outside the school district pays income tax to the district like those who live in the school district?
If you live in the Monroeville school district, you pay the income tax. If you live in Russia and own an acre of land in the school district, you pay the schools land tax. State pays the school money for each student that they have. Don't know how much it is ($35 a day?), but if as many kids were NOT enrolled in the school district as it is in willard, that could be the deciding factor in whether there even is a Monroeville school district. 10 kids leave Monroeville, it's nearly a teachers salary. And don't think that other schools aren't semi recruiting good students. I know of three instances of 3 different students from Monroeville being asked to come to two other districts. Sometimes the price of gas is the ONLY factor where a parent sends his kid. There are students in college who totally wish they had gone to Norwalk, for instance for the better educational programs they have. This is where is all is. The worst thing for a student at one district can do, is to job shadow at another school. It makes them mad at their parents. Then college comes, and they get madder...if they are a quality student and not a "don't care" party student.