Grandview R-2 School District voters will be asked in April to approve a $7.2 million bond issue to fund safety and infrastructure improvements.
The Grandview Board of Education voted 6-0 on Jan. 19 to put the bond issued, titled Proposition Safe Eagles, on the April 4 ballot. Board member Amy Smith did not attend the meeting. The measure requires a 4/7 (57.14 percent) majority to pass.
The bond issue would not require an increase to the district’s tax levy, which is $4.677 per $100 assessed valuation. However, it would extend the district’s bond debt by approximately nine years, from 2034 to 2043, Superintendent Matt Zoph said.
He said the bond issue would provide the revenue to fund a lot of needed improvements.
If the bond issue is passed, the following projects are planned: remodeling the main entrances at the elementary, middle and high school buildings so visitors must enter school offices through a buzz-in door system, which would remove direct access into buildings; installing ballistic film (material used to strengthen windows) to first-floor windows and doors; updating district signage for safety and easier travel around campus; replacing the district’s camera system campuswide; replacing the district’s sewer treatment plant; completing a kitchen addition to the high school; upgrading asphalt around campus; purchasing new school buses; acquiring land; and completing other remodeling and repairs to existing facilities.
Zoph said it’s especially important to fund the safety improvements.
“We’re always looking for ways to have safe and secure campuses for patrons, students and staff,” he said.
Grandview voters approved a $2.75 million bond issue in April 2019 to improve safety, but passage of Proposition Safe Eagles would allow for further safety improvements, namely the remodeling of entrances, Zoph said.
“We feel it’s the next step in providing safety to the community,” he said.
Zoph said adding a kitchen at Grandview High School would be a huge improvement.
“We’ve never really had a true kitchen at the high school,” he said. “It was built as a concession stand for athletics. The high school opened in 2002 and has never had a true kitchen.”
Zoph said the district’s aging sewer plant shows signs of deterioration.
“The sewer treatment plant needs to be replaced,” he said. “I believe the plant was put in during the ’50s and was upgraded in the ’70s.”
Zoph said the district has its own sewer system “because we’re not tied to a city.”
He said he is optimistic the bond issue will be approved because of previous community support.
“The community has always supported the school district,” Zoph said. “I don’t want to take anything for granted, but we’ve always had the support of the community.”