The Fox C-6 School District has unveiled building-by-building plans for how it would spend money from a proposed $48 million bond issue, if voters approve the measure in April.
The district held open houses on Feb. 24 at Fox Middle School in Arnold and Feb. 26 at Seckman Middle School in Imperial.
The pair of two-hour sessions featured posters of each Fox C-6 school building with the list of planned improvements that will be made if the bond issue is approved. The building-by-building plan also may be viewed on the district’s website, foxc6.org.
Fox C-6 administrators, including representatives from each school building, also attended the open houses to answer questions.
District officials said approximately 10 people attended the open house at Fox Middle and about 10 attended the Seckman Middle open house.
The ballot measure is called Proposition M, and if approved on April 7, the district would use the money to replace HVAC systems and roofs; install safety and security improvements in buildings; and pay off existing leases. Prop M stands for “maintain our schools, modernize our safety measures and manage our resources.”
“I think it makes it relatable to the individual,” Superintendent Paul Fregeau said of presenting plans for each district building. “When I think about my kids, grandkid or neighbor’s kid, I am thinking about the school they go to. Yes, I am concerned about the other schools, but I want to make sure my kid is taken care of in their building. It clearly states for every building what they are getting.”
District officials said lockdown capable classroom door hardware, modernized exterior door monitoring and controls, and rapid response emergency notifications systems would be installed at all 17 school buildings and the Don Earl Early Childhood Center.
The district said Prop M money would be used to update HVAC units and temperature controls at Clyde Hamrick and Rockport Heights elementary schools.
Fox C-6 also will completely replace the roof and update the HVAC unit and temperature controls at Antonia Middle School, and it will replace part of the roof and update the HVAC unit and temperature controls at Fox Middle.
The district said the bond money also would pay for partial roof replacements at Meramec Heights and Seckman elementary schools.
Fregeau said the district was able to pay for roof work at Simpson and Fox elementary schools with insurance money it received following a tornado-producing storm that ripped through Jefferson County in March 2025.
“We want to be as exact as we can in communicating what buildings are getting or have gotten,” Fregeau said.
Megan Gordon, who lives in the Arnold area, said Fox C-6 provided good information at the open house. She said she graduated from Seckman High School and has two daughters attending Rockport Heights Elementary.
“I liked the setup,” she said of the open house. “I knew exactly where I could go to see how this would affect my kids. As much as I care about the district as a whole, as a parent, your first thought is about your kids and how this will affect them.
“Being able to walk around and see how it affects all of the other schools is good too, because I have friends with kids at other schools.”
Gordon said she was happy to see the HVAC system would be addressed at Rockport Heights Elementary, if Prop M passes.
“It is definitely an old system, and they do what they can,” she said. “There are parts of the building that are really cold and really hot. The HVAC unit would be huge.”
Anna Tostado, who lives in Arnold and has children attending Fox high and middle schools, said she was excited to come to the open house to see how the district would use bond issue money, if voters approve Prop M.
“I know that at (Fox) High School, they could use some roof repairs, and we are constantly hearing about the HVAC needs from our kids,” she said. “At (Fox Middle), there are HVAC needs. There also are always concerns about safety. Seeing that they will try to update the door locks and have safe-and-secure systems are exciting as well.”
Tostado said the information about each building is important because parents can track what is being done at each school their children may attend.
“You can follow it from your elementary to high school,” she said. “If parents vote on this, they will be able to see exactly what they are voting for.”
Before board members on Jan. 13 voted to place the bond issue on the April 7 ballot, Fox C-6 held more than 30 stakeholder meetings, including sessions with students and staff at district schools and five community meetings held in October and November at Fox C-6 middle schools and in December at the Arnold Recreation Center to provide information and rank the community’s priorities for the potential bond money.
The bond issue, which requires a four-sevenths (57.14 percent) vote for approval, would not require a tax increase. However, if approved, the district’s debt service levy would be extended once the new bonds are sold.
If voters approve the $48 million bond issue in April, the school district’s general obligation bond debt would not be paid off until 2046, Chief Operating Officer Tracy Schmidt said.