Jefferson gym going back on ballot
For the eighth year, Jefferson C-123 will be placing a $1.5 million general obligation bond on the April 5 ballot to finance the construction of a new gymnasium.
Even though the issue won a simple majority last year in the municipal election, it failed to make the 4/7 supermajority it needed to pass. In recent years, the bond issue has come close to passing, sometimes within only a few votes.
Tim Jermain, Jefferson C-123 superintendent, said he’s not sure why the issue hasn’t passed yet.
“People really haven’t talked about why,” he said.
According to Jermain, he has heard people expressing concern about investing in the structure when the district has low enrollment.
“If you look at rural schools, especially north of U.S. Highway 36, enrollment has declined in the last 10 years,” he said.
Jermain, however, highlighted that he didn’t think Conception Junction’s problems are unique.
“The population hasn’t decreased as much as some,” he said. “People are migrating more toward to urban areas because of jobs … we’re an agricultural community, and it used to be that there were smaller farms. But the farm industry has changed here, too. Now there’s more land owned by fewer people with smaller families.”
Dwindling population, Jermain said, doesn’t have to mean decreased education value or fewer opportunities for valuable after-school activities. With smaller class sizes, students naturally get more opportunities for one-on-one time with their teachers.
Jermain speculated that some voters may think there’s less of a need for a new gymnasium because the district co-ops, that is combines, some of its sports programs with South Nodaway R-IV. According to Jermain, sharing the gym puts more demand on the gym.
Students in K-12 still share the district’s only gymnasium, which causes problems during inclement weather and in terms of planning for extracurricular activities.
At this point, Jermain said, it’s not just about making room for sports teams or a place to host school plays.
“It would definitely be a safer venue,” Jermain said. “There’s a major need for a second facility.”
The district will be using the same design for the gym as they did last year. Plans for the new gym increase bleacher space by 320 linear feet.
Funding the gymnasium would cost taxpayers 75 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, which might also be another reason the district has struggled to pass the bond issue for nearly a decade.
“I’m sure that with some people, it’s the tax,” Jermain said.
Jefferson’s current levy is $5.46 per $100, and adding to that hasn’t enticed voters in the past.
Construction should take about 10 months to complete following voter approval.
At the district board meeting last week, board members discussed returning in February to discuss how to get enough people interested to pass the bond issue.
