Jackson schools' long-range plan may include bond issues

The Jackson School District held an hour-long session at the high school Tuesday night to catch parents up on the progress of a long-range facilities plan — that could include bond issues to pay for solutions — and to poll them about concerns.

Many of the plan’s components seek to address capacity issues at different schools and are part of a strategic-planning process begun last year to address growing enrollment and anticipate future needs in the district.

“We continue to increase over a hundred students a year,” superintendent John Link said.

To deal with that issue, a solid plan is needed going forward.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for kids,” he said.

Aaron Harte, an architect at Incite Design Studio that’s putting together the facilities plan, said the district’s buildings are well-maintained, and attitudes among teachers, parents and students are generally good.

“There’s a lot of positives in this district,” he said.

Capacity issues are an issue, however, at schools such as West Lane Elementary, which can alter the way programs are run.

That’s why part of the facilities plan is attempting to envision how student populations can be spread more evenly throughout the district or whether they should be.

“We can’t just come in there and re-boundary everything yet,” he said.

To help alleviate capacity and traffic issues, as well as inconsistent grade systems among elementary schools, the old senior high school being vacant and not knowing exactly where to house ninth grade, Harte said the hope is to introduce a bond issue in January to address a first phase of improvements.

Depending on what is decided concerning grade levels, one or two more phases — along with bond issues — will be launched as far in the future as 2020 or 2023.

The second or third phase of the plan also would see construction of a performing-arts center at the high school.

The overall goal, Harte said, is to try to maintain 85 percent capacity at each school building.

Parent input given after Tuesday’s main program will be added to information gathered to help identify which projects are most important.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3852

Pertinent address:

315 S. Missouri St., Jackson, Mo.