The Dunklin R-5 School District will ask voters in April to approve a $13.5 million bond issue to fund safety improvements and construction of a new gymnasium for Herculaneum High School, as well as other projects.
The measure, called Proposition S, will require a four-sevenths (57.1 percent) majority to pass. The Board of Education voted unanimously Nov. 15 to place the issue on the April 4 ballot.
“It’s for school safety,” Superintendent Clint Freeman said. “We are looking to redo the entrances at our Pevely Elementary School and Senn-Thomas Middle School buildings. We would like to do a competitive gym at our high school. We would also look to do some renovations to the existing gym. In addition, we would upgrade and renovate other facilities.”
Freeman said Herculaneum High School and the Taylor Early Childhood Center, the district’s other two school buildings, already have secure entrances.
He said the new gym would be a stand-alone building connected to the high school, and it would include a storm shelter.
Passage of the bond issue would not require a tax increase. However, the district’s bond debt would be extended five years, from 2038 to 2043, Freeman said.
The district’s current tax levy is $4.8213 per $100 assessed valuation.
Freeman said district officials will work to inform Dunklin R-5 residents about the bond issue.
“We’re going to be holding several informational meetings with the community after the holidays,” he said.
The last time Dunklin voters approved a bond issue was in August 2018, when they passed a $6 million bond issue to fund improvements to Pevely Elementary. That bond issue came with an 18-cent increase to the district’s tax levy.
Freeman said passage of Proposition S would allow the district to take care of several important projects, with safety at the top of the list.
“The most important thing is making sure our kids are safe and secure,” he said.
Freeman said the district also needs to prepare for projected growth by renovating and upgrading facilities.
“If this passes, it will allow us space to grow,” he said. “There’s a lot of anticipated growth in the district in the next three to five years.”
R-5 officials seek $13.5 million bond issue to fund gym, safety upgrades – Leader Publications
