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.