Setting the record straight

Today Springfield Public Schools was the focus of several opinion pieces in the local newspaper. One in particular questioned the district’s use of the $96.5 million generated by the 2006 voter-approved bond issue and purported the district is “guilty of breach of faith with Springfield residents.”

Before some of this misinformation takes hold in our community, I wanted to provide you some facts that will clarify these questions.

1. In a column entitled “Numbers don’t back district’s claims,” the author implies that SPS did not use the $96.5 million to install air conditioning and address overcrowding in our schools. SPS not only air conditioned the 18 schools it promised, we were able to air condition three additional schools (Bowerman, Campbell and Shady Dell) due to sound fiscal and bond project management. Regarding the issue of overcrowding, I encourage you to ask the principal of McBride Elementary School whether construction of David Harrison Elementary School had an impact on crowding in southwest Springfield.
   
   
2. The column’s author also takes issue with our student-teacher ratio. Based on his math, SPS schools have a ratio of 14:1. While we have made a concerted effort to reduce class sizes, we have not achieved the levels he suggests. According to DESE, SPS had a student-teacher ratio of 21:1 in 2008. Our strategic plan has identified the need to reduce student-teacher ratios in our classrooms to meet desirable standards as defined by MSIP. We continue to make progress toward that measure.
   
   
3. In the same column, he states that SPS misused bond funds and “bypassed” voters by paying construction costs related to the new Hickory Hills School. In 2006 SPS stated that Hickory Hills construction would be funded through a lease-participation arrangement, requiring SPS to make an annual payment of $2.5 million. It was determined in 2009 that interest and earnings on the 2006 bonds had generated an additional $16 million so the school board prudently decided to apply $10.8 million of those earnings toward the project. This decision did not divert any of the $96.5 million in original bond funding. All projects were completed as promised.
   
   This decision applied a portion of the $16 million in additional earnings toward the district’s debt, a wise financial decision which reduced interest and lowered the annual payment. A similar decision was made to apply the remainder toward air conditioning Bowerman, Campbell and Shady Dell schools. There was no “breach of faith” in the board’s actions. As elected representatives of Springfield they were acting as wise stewards of the resources entrusted to them.
   
   
4. In another opinion column, a west Springfield resident questioned the proposed 2009 bond project which would expand Westport Elementary School to a K-8 campus and turn Study Middle School into the new home for the district’s alternative programs. This project will help the district make strides toward all three of its strategic goals:
   
   
   • Improve student achievement: Research indicates a K-8 configuration promotes academic success by fostering relationships over a period of nine academic years and by reducing the number of transitions students must make to other buildings. One study shows that students in K-8 schools outperformed their peers in attendance, dropout rates and test scores.
   • Improve the graduation rate: More students at-risk of not graduating may be served when alternative education programs are relocated to the Study building. Currently Bailey Alternative High School has limited space and can accommodate a limited number of students in grades 10-12. Currently at-risk ninth graders do not have access to alternative educational services due to lack of space.
     
   • Ensure efficient and effective use of resources: Enrollment at both Study and Westport has declined significantly over the past 10 years. Creating a single campus for both schools would free up the Study building to house all alternative programs, currently located in three buildings (Bailey, Berry and Pepperdine). The district would save more than $3 million by not having to air condition these three buildings. Other savings would result from reduced operating costs related to utilities, custodial, maintenance and food service for the three buildings. Additional efficiencies will be realized through collaboration with Springfield-Greene County Park Board, which will invest about $500,000 to improve the school-park program at adjacent Westport Park. Athletic fields, playground equipment, pavilion and swimming pool renovation are among the planned improvements.

Get the facts about the proposed no-tax-increase bond on the ballot in November on the district's site.

An overview of the proposed no-tax-increase bond

In November, we will be asking Springfield parents and voters to help us take another important step forward by approving a $50 million investment in our schools to create quality learning environments for all students without raising the current tax rate. This no-tax-increase bond will fund air conditioning, construction & improvements and technology.

Here's a short breakdown of the proposed projects included as part of this no-tax-increase bond issue:

• Air conditioning - SPS will fulfill its pledge to air condition every school in the district with this bond. Plans call for air conditioning to be installed at Boyd, Robberson, Rountree, Sunshine, and York elementary schools; Jarrett and Reed middle schools; Phelps Center for Gifted Education; and the district’s Tefft Center. This fulfills a promise made a decade ago to achieve equity in the quality of learning environments available to students in every part of our community.
• Construction & Improvements - Essential construction and improvement projects will take place at Hillcrest, Glendale and Kickapoo high schools; Westport and Jefferies elementary schools; and we will use bond funds to retire lease participation agreements being used in the construction of the new Hickory Hills School.
• Technology - Every classroom in the district will be equipped with an LCD projector and interactive whiteboard, and aging student computers will be replaced with more efficient workstations.

Passing a no-tax-increase bond issue now maximizes resources. It allows the district to leverage federal stimulus money to access between $5 million to $7 million in interest-free bonds available for a small window of time through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This will save Springfield taxpayers millions in interest. Those interest-free bonds along with the district’s current bonding capacity and available debt service funds – available because of our good stewardship of public resources – enable us to request a $50 million bond without having to increase the current tax rate.

I encourage you to read detailed plans for each project on our web site. I'm truly excited about the opportunity this no-tax-increase bond offers our schools and our community.

Thoughts on the Westport/Study discussion

Thursday evening I had a chance to be a part of a panel discussion concerning the district’s proposed plans for Westport Elementary School as part of the proposed no-tax-increase bond issue. I want to thank the Westside Neighborhood Betterment Association for hosting this meeting and all of the parents, neighbors and others who came to learn more about and discuss this proposal. I am always encouraged when parents and citizens get involved with their neighborhood schools, and I hope each person who came to the forum will continue to stay involved in the lives of school children even beyond this election.

I’d like to take this opportunity to again share with you the details of this proposal and speak to some of the concerns expressed at Thursday’s forum.

This plan would expand Westport Elementary School to accommodate students from nearby Study Middle School. Both schools have experienced a significant decline in enrollment over the past decade. Bond funds would be used to construct a new cafeteria, gymnasium and classrooms plus renovate the existing all-purpose room. Westport will become a state-of-the-art facility and source of pride for students and the neighborhood. Study, air conditioned as part of the bond proposal approved by voters in 2006, will become the new home for all the district’s alternative programs, now housed in three different buildings.

Some important facts about this plan for Westport and Study:

• Improving student achievement: Research and experience tells us that a K-8 configuration can promote academic success by fostering relationships over a period of nine academic years and by reducing the number of transitions students must make to other buildings.

• Improve the graduation rate: By relocating the district’s alternative education programs to Study, we can serve more students at risk of not graduating. Currently, Bailey Alternative High School has very limited space for students in grades 10-12 and cannot accommodate ninth grade students. Consolidating these programs at Study would also allow the district to close and possibly sell the three buildings currently housing the programs.

• Traffic: All our schools experience minor traffic inconveniences during start and dismissal times. As we develop the plan to expand the Westport campus, we will consult architects and planners to design traffic control measures which will minimize congestion on neighborhood streets.

• Safety: Some parents have expressed concern about elementary school students and middle school students being together in the hallways. As with the other K-8 schools in Springfield, at Westport the middle school and elementary school programs will operate independently. While students may share the cafeteria, gymnasium and library, the times they use them will be staggered.

• Alternative education: As for the plan at Study, I hope people will not jump to false assumptions about the students there. Kids in the district’s alternative programs are not “bad” kids, and it’s wrong to imply such stereotypes. Alternative education exists to provide an educational setting for students who are not succeeding for one reason or another in the regular school setting. These students may be teen parents or may have to work to support their family. Others may need more academic support to perform at grade level than their peers in a traditional classroom. Rather than allow these young people to fall through the cracks, we choose to provide them alternative educational opportunities designed to promote academic achievement, foster self-esteem and develop the skills required to graduate and become responsible community members. District rules governing conduct apply and are enforced among all students.

• School-park program at Westport: The Springfield-Greene County Park Board will invest $500,000 to improve the school-park program at adjacent Westport Park. Athletic fields, playground equipment, pavilion and swimming pool renovation are among the planned improvements.

While many are excited about the possibilities associated with this proposal, I understand the concerns some residents have expressed about combining Westport and Study. I hope that this offers some assurance. New and improved school facilities can serve as the foundation of the revitalization of a community. I remain confident that this plan directly benefits the students of Westport, Study and all of our students accessing alternative services.

If you have questions about this plan or any of the others included in the upcoming no-tax-increase bond proposal, do not hesitate to contact us. You may read details of all proposed bond projects here.