Ls Land Issue 24 Future Schooll
Hilke Mcnally
The property proposed by Carefree Partners for subdividing is agricultural land located west of 1251 30th St. NW and southwest of 3200 19th Ave. NW. The proposal is to divide it into three lots, of which one lot would be donated to Bishop Ryan, leaving the remaining lots for other future development.
The current ordinance allows up to six residents and one staff member in that particular zoning district. The conditional use permit is being sought to accommodate an additional six residents plus staff.
Proposed renovations to the house at 425 Main St. S. include adding seven bedrooms and two bathrooms to the current four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, according to information provided to the city.
Isaiah Keller, a director with Seeds of Eden, said the recovery house provides care coordination, peer support and various behavioral-health related services. Residents are those who have completed treatment.
A letter of intent to purchase the land shows the seller as Parkwood Estates LLC. This letter is signed by Curtis Stewart as manager/member with Parkwood and by Lance Campbell, superintendent representing Prairie Grove School District as the buyer.
David Kellogg, assistant superintendent, said a geotechnical study of the land came back with good results, and the property already has a survey on file. Kellogg did not have an exact date for closing the transaction but said it should take place in a short time period with Waco Title Co.
Campbell last week said he believes the land on Parks Street is a good location for a new elementary school because of its proximity to residential housing. It's across from Sundowner Estates subdivision and will be close to a new subdivision with more than 500 houses or multi-family units coming in the future off Butler Road.
The school board will consider a resolution at its Sept. 19 meeting in support of the district's six-year master facilities plan that will be submitted to the state's Academic Facilities Partnership Program for 2025-2027. This master plan shows a new kindergarten-fourth grade school.
In the proposed resolution, the School Board resolves that it will dedicate local resources to meet the district's share of a school construction project. If approved, the state's share would be about 50% for what the state considers suitable space.
County property records show the 20 acres on Parks Street was purchased by Sundown Construction LLC in May 2021 for an estimated $450,000. Parkwood Estates became the property owner in August 2021 but the county website does not have any information on an estimate sale price.
The land has been discussed for residential development in meetings with Prairie Grove Planning Commission for more than 1 1/2 years. The latest concept approved by the commission for Parkwood Estates proposed eight single-family lots and 41 townhouse lots (a total of 82 townhouses) for the 20 acres.
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A specific opening date for the schools on this site will be dictated by growth in the area. The purchase of this site provides Northwest ISD with a total of four future high school locations, not including the location of High School #4 passed in the 2023 bond referendum. When Northwest ISD nears build out, it will operate 8 to 10 comprehensive high schools.
In October, the district approved the purchase of land in Wise County for a future high school site. The purchase was 7.132 acres for the lump sum amount of $1,700,000 and is located west of U.S. 287 and south of County Road 4651 in the west portion of the district.
The newest high school coming to NISD will be located in Fort Worth at North Riverside Drive with a potential opening in 2026 to alleviate overcrowding at Byron Nelson, Eaton, and Northwest High Schools.
Our school buildings deteriorate over time due to normal wear and tear. We know that well-maintained, updated facilities can enhance the learning environment, improve safety, and provide our students and staff with modern amenities.
We have a proud history in Waukee CSD of maintaining our facilities and not deferring maintenance to the extent possible. Without a referendum, we would need to transition to a model that includes deferred maintenance. This presents challenges in the long run, such as changes in materials and ongoing inflation, in tandem with the overall decline in the quality of the experiences for those using the facilities. In this model, the cost of returning our facilities to their original quality would become increasingly expensive over time.
The majority of the school property taxes that are paid go into the general fund. The general fund pays for the day-to-day costs of operating our District, with the staff costs comprising the largest portion of the budget. Because schools are funded on student enrollment and that count is a year behind, we educate approximately 500 students annually with no additional revenue for them from the state. As such, we have one of the lowest per student expenditures in Iowa.
Another portion of the property tax is the repayment of general obligation bonds. The maximum amount that can be generated, by law, is $4.05/$1,000 of assessed valuation. That is our current levy rate and it is the reason why the tax rate will not increase if the referendum passes.
That leaves $10 million for general repairs and maintenance on buildings and grounds, furniture replacements, carpet and painting, software, instructional equipment and band instruments, classroom technology, staff technology, and vehicles. This is not enough revenue to cover the replacement of parking lots, roofs, etc. on nearly $1 billion in total assets. Nor does it allow us to save money for future projects like the addition at WHS, or to build an elementary school.
While we get funding from sources such as PPEL and SAVE (see above), this funding is not enough to cover the cost of our infrastructure maintenance, not to mention planning for the future of the District.
In addition, we educate approximately 500 students each year without funding from the state due to how public schools are funded in Iowa (a year in arrears). The funding formula makes it very difficult to save for future projects as the current available funds are used in real time for student, staff, and building needs.
No. The referendum approval allows the district to issue bonds (or borrow money) for the stated capital projects. The maximum tax levy allowed for debt service payments is 4.05 per $1,000. Because the tax base is growing and we are paying down the principal balance of outstanding debt each year, we are able to structure the bond debt service payments to be made using the tax levy amount already authorized. We will issue debt in several different transactions to ensure our debt payments can be made within the $4.05 levy.
The Coffin School property, located at 1 Turner Road in Marblehead, sits on approximately three acres of land. The school was originally built in 1948, with an annex added in 1962, and it was most recently used as an elementary school serving students in second and third grade. The school was closed in October 2021 when its operations were shifted to the new Brown School.
The School Committee, during a meeting on October 5th, voted 3-to-2 to retain the Coffin property for potential future school use. Much of the discussion centered around a new Massachusetts law that would require Marblehead and 176 other communities across the Commonwealth to identify one or more districts in which to change zoning bylaws to automatically allow multi-family housing, potentially adding additional children who would need to be educated in local public schools.
The School Committee vote on October 5th to retain the Coffin site for future potential school use was three-to-two, with Fox, Alison Taylor, and Jenn Schaeffner voting in favor and Meagan Taylor and Brian Ota opposed.
The district has yet to make plans to build on the site, though that could change in the future. You can hear more about it in the podcast episode Mid Bay News conducted with Superintendent of Schools Marcus Chambers.
One member of the public, who failed to identify himself for the record, voiced dissent over the purchase of the land. He argued that the land was not a good use of the real estate, enrollment was on the decline in the Niceville area, and the school district was speculating in real estate to build up future funds.
It would be great to see the school be finished with portal buildings once and for all. We need to also consider the shortage of physicians in the area. I bet you know at least one person who had their doctor retire, leave the area or become a concierge doctor.
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