NEVC district bond issue on April ballot

Patrons in the Northeast Vernon County School District are once again being asked to finance a new school building to house the district's students. Superintendent Charles Naas said the need is real and won't go away.

"The buildings are both more than 80 years old," Naas said. "The decision isn't whether costs are going to go up; whether this passes or not they are. The decision is whether to continue to spend money on repairs to old buildings that won't last, or to spend money on a new building that will last the district for a long time to come."

The timing of this issue is important because of stimulus money that is available now, but won't be after the April election.

"If this passes we are eligible to apply for a Qualified School Election Bond with rates between zero and 1 1/2 percent," Naas said. "It's not free money but it's as close to free as you can get. A half of the bond amount would qualify and that could save a great deal of money."

In addition to saving money by getting a good interest rate the district would save money in many ways, like reduced costs associated with having two kitchens preparing meals, cleaning two buildings, and transporting students to two different locations.

"It's a no-brainer to me and I live it more than anyone," Naas said. "I've seen the gradual decay and spending money on fixes that don't last. We've got two kitchens, we have library aides in two buildings because the librarian can't be in two places at once. We're maxed out on electricity, the meter has been upgraded as much as it can BE. We have stuff we can't plug in because there just aren't enough outlets and we can't put anymore in without putting in a new meter."

Naas said what would be minor inconveniences in a new building are major pains in the old ones.

"When something happens everyone available comes out to help," Naas said. "You never know when something will come up. It's the little things that eat at you. When it rains and the wind blows, the water comes right through the mortar and someone will have to be out there mopping it up."

For this attempt at passage Naas said the district is trying to learn from the past and make sure that residents in the district know what is going on at the school and provide them with all the information they have.

"In the past they complained about transparency," Naas said. "We've got a Web site, www.nevcknights.org, for the district and we have a button up on the right side of the page that says 'School Construction' and that brings up a lot of information on the proposed new school and on the district's performance. The site has everything they want to see with just a click."

Naas is proud of the district's academic performance and said the last MAP test was one reason.

"In the past they said we only earned seven out of 14 goals but the last one we met 12 out of 14," Naas said.

The rumors about the district shutting down have been floating around since the last time the issue was on the ballot and Naas said there was no truth to them.

"We're doing well," Naas said. "Our FBLA students did a great job at the last competition and our FFA is doing well. We're sending a lot of kids to college. We're nowhere near shutting down. The heart of our school is pumping well. This bond issue, it's all about the facility."