The Fox C-6 School District has scheduled two open houses to share more information about a $48 million bond issue that it placed on the April 7 ballot.
The open houses are scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 24 at Fox Middle School, 743 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold and 6-8 p.m. Feb. 26 at Seckman Middle School, 2840 Seckman Road, in Imperial.
Superintendent Paul Fregeau said the bulletin boards for every building in the district will be available for people to see what improvements Fox C-6 plans to make at each school, if the bond issue is approved. He also said the district may have examples of a door-locking mechanism the district may purchase to improve security.
Fregeau said the district also will likely have a short video playing on a loop that will highlight the improvements needed throughout the district.
“There will be very clear information,” he said during the Feb. 3 Board of Education meeting. “It will be, ‘Clyde Hamrick (Elementary School) is getting this. Antonio Middle (School) is getting this.’ Everybody will know if they vote for it what each of their schools will be getting.”
The ballot measure is called Proposition M, and if approved, 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.”
The bond issue, which requires a four-seventh (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.
Fox C-6 has an overall tax levy of $4.1867 per $100 assessed valuation, with the debt service levy accounting for 39.01 cents of that. Debt service levy funds are used to pay district debts.
Chief operating officer Tracy Schmidt said the Fox district currently owes $47,024,963.40 for general obligation bonds and $6,225,000 for lease agreements. The general obligation bonds are projected to be paid off in March 2041, and the lease agreements are expected to be paid off in March 2028.
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, Schmidt said.
In addition, if voters approve the bond issue, the district likely would pay off the lease-purchase agreement early. That debt is owed for building Antonia Middle and for buying several buses earlier than projected, Fregeau said.
If that debt were retired, he said, the district may shift 19 cents from Fox C-6’s capital improvement fund to its operating fund. Board members would have to approve the shift when the district sets its tax rate in September.
Fox C-6’s current capital improvement levy is 32 cents per $100 assessed valuation, and its operating levy is $3.4766 per $100 assessed valuation. If the board approves the shift, the district’s capital improvement levy would drop to 13 cents, and its operating levy would rise to $3.666. Its overall levy of $4.1867 per $100 assessed valuation would remain unchanged.
Voters in the Fox C-6 School District last approved a bond issue in June 2020.
The $40 million bond issue, called Prop P, was the largest bond issue passed in the district’s history. Fox C-6 used Prop P money to build additions at Fox High, Seckman Middle and Antonia and Meramec Heights elementary schools, and it built new playgrounds at most of its elementary schools and enhanced security for most of the school’s entrances.
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.
Fregeau said nearly 700 people completed surveys during the meetings, and 715 filled out an online survey to rank what building projects – roofs, HVAC units other projects – they believe Fox C-6 should address with bond issue revenue.
They also were asked what security measures they believe are most important to add or improve, such as a rapid incident response system; lockdown-capable classroom doors; safety-enhanced exterior door access; additional surveillance cameras; improved fencing and gates; and security film for building windows.
District officials used the responses to make a list of potential Prop M projects.
Fregeau said it is important for Fox C-6 community members to come to the open houses, even if they attended previous meetings, so they have more information about how the district plans to spend the potential bond issue money.
“They can make an informed decision about the building that they care about,” Fregeau said. “They will know what every building is getting and can make an informed decision in April.”