Janna Stevens
Referendum Information: A Brief Overview
By Janna Stevens
In an effort to continue to try to educate the community about the upcoming School District Referendum, scheduled for April 5th, 2016, I will be writing articles over the next several months explaining the entire process the Board of Education went through to arrive at the referendum decision.
How it began…
The Superior School Board did a thorough assessment of all the facilities in the school district in 2013-2014. Responsible School Districts perform these assessments every 10-15 years. The assessment provides guidance for administration and the School Board on projects … big and small.
The Challenges
The 2013-2014 study revealed a number of issues to tackle! Many of the issues will fall under our maintenance/operation budget. Annually, the district spends approximately $2 million maintaining and caring for the facilities. Here are the general category numbers from this year’s budget:
| Total School District Maintenance/Operations | Budget | % |
| Utilities | $850,900 | 45% |
| Operations | $211,800 | 11% |
| Repair & Maintenance | $824,155 | 43% |
| Other Expenses | $19,900 | 1% |
| Totals | $1,906,755 | 100% |
Some of the projects our Buildings and Grounds Department works on to maintain and care for our facilities go to projects such as removal of carpeting, new flooring, paving patches, lighting, windows … and the list goes on! Other items too costly to fall under the maintenance budget needed to be addressed in a different manner.
The facility assessment revealed the need to begin planning for a major renovation at our Superior High School and a replacement of Cooper Elementary. Both buildings have major issues and failed on all four levels judged: Academic Adequacy, Energy Efficiency, Facility Condition (interior and exterior), and Code Compliance/Safety/Security.
This information along with two new roofs, secure entrances, and paving improvements rose to the top of the 1000 different items the Board had to consider. The Board had a daunting task of what to do and when!
Working closely with professional financial advisors, the Board outlined the best time-line to begin the major work necessary to continue to provide outstanding educational programming in outstanding facilities. The School Board decided to move forward with a referendum vote which will be on the ballot in April of 2016.
If the referendum is successful, the financial impact will be $5.08 cents a month for a homeowner with a home valued (tax value) at $100,000.00.
Voters can get informed about all the details of the referendum by:
- Attending our information sessions:
Additionally, please review our website at superiorreferendum.com for more details.
Get informed and get out to vote on April 5, 2016!
Watch for my next article that will take a closer look at proposed renovations at Superior Middle School.
