$19.5M School Bond

By Ida Brown / senior staff writer
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN March 18, 2007 02:20 am

— The signs are everywhere — in front of homes, businesses and even vacant lots throughout the city.
School Bond: Yes
It’s Right.
It’s Time.
But is it?
“It’s definitely something I would support,” said Mildred King of Meridian.
“Our schools should be up to standards. I don’t have children, but I have nieces and nephews who are enrolled in the school district. We entrust our kids to our schools for eight hours a day; they should have the best education available to them while they are there.”
On March 27, a special election will be held on a proposed $19.5 million bond for Meridian Public School District. If approved, the bond will fund what school officials describe as “the most comprehensive, cost-effective strategy to improve facilities, build a new school and create appropriate spaces for students to learn in small learning communities.”
A little more than a week before the vote, school board President Fred Wile said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome. Seven years ago, a proposed bond issue failed, not once but twice.
“It has been more than 20 years since the citizens of Meridian have approved a school bond,” Wile said. “Schools are more than buildings; they are about the best possible learning environment. We need the support of our community to pass this bond.”
The current proposed bond is to be repaid over a 20-year period. If approved, the $19.5 million bond will be used for four major areas:
• Air conditioning for all cafeterias in all schools.
• Renovating schools.
• Implementing small learning communities at Meridian High School.
• A new, separate, state-of-the art school for the ninth grade on the high school campus that will provide more opportunity for effective and expanded learning.

Who made these
recommendations?

The bond request is the result of an 18-month study of the district’s future needs by the Framing the Future taskforces — composed of nearly 60 parents, teachers, principals and a diverse cross-section of citizens. Specific recommendations for capital improvements to Meridian’s public schools are designed to ensure that all students meet the most rigorous standards in an excellent learning environment.
Atlanta-based consultant Robert Kronley of Kronley & Associates has been a key player in evaluating the district and fostering potential new directions.
“The concept is that a community is only as good as its education system,” Wile said. “This bond issue not only will improve our education system, but also better prepare graduates to become more productive and better citizens.”

School for ninth graders

Among the most frequently asked questions about how the funds will be used: “Why the ninth grade needs a new, separate school?”
High school starts in ninth grade for students in the United States and Mississippi. However, in Meridian ninth graders are currently split between two junior high schools — Kate Griffin and Northwest.
“The transformation from ninth grade to high school is when we see the highest number of dropouts,” Wile said.
A study by the Framing the Future taskforces revealed that at the end of ninth grade is when the district has the highest rate of dropouts.
According to Superintendent Sylvia Autry, the state dropout rate is 50 percent. Meridian’s dropout rate is 37.4 percent.
“Our dropout rate is too high and our graduate rate too low,” Autry said. “And too many students graduate from high school without the skills necessary to make it in today’s workforce.
In addition to the need to consolidate ninth grade, Kate Griffin’s service life is nearing an end, officials said.
“Kate Griffin has been patched and repatched until there’s not a lot more that can be done,” said Vicky Hood, who currently serves as principal of the 80-plus years school.
“If the ninth graders are together at one school on the high school campus, they will have smaller classes, more individualized attention, and a curriculum designed to meet to their educational interests,” Hood said.
Still, some think a new building is not the solution.
“They could relocate the ninth graders to Magnolia Middle School — that way it would be close to the high school, but you wouldn’t have to build a whole new school,” said one school district educator who asked to remain anonymous.
“Why build a whole new school on a campus that is already cramped?” the educator said.

Why not build
a new high school?

Another common question: why not build a new high school? Although not new, the current high school has been deemed a serviceable structure, board officials said.
According to Board Vice President Ed Lynch, research from five years ago revealed the cost to recreate the current facility into a new high school would be $52 million.
“This community has not had a record of passing bond issues,” Lynch said. “We felt the current bond issue amount is more tolerable for this community to do as much as we could possibly do — and that not only includes the high school, but all schools in the district.”
Meridian businessman Hartley Peavey has suggested renovating the now vacant Village Fair Mall as a high school. Wile said this would not be feasible, nor realistic.
“Renovating a 35- to 40-year-old building designed as retail space, that has asbestos, trying to make it into a state-of-the-art school is not a small change issue,” Wile said.

What are Small
Learning Communities?

Small learning communities are theme-based “schools within schools.” They provide students with individualized instruction and introductions to such careers as health, the arts and business.
“They differ from Vo-Tech training in the way they are structured,” said Superintendent Sylvia Autry.
The theme-based Small Learning Communities recommended for Meridian Public School District are:
• Arts and Culture
• Health
• Business and Technical Education
• Academic Challenge
Small learning communities set high expectations for students by keeping them focused on and interested in their work, Autry said. They are designed so teachers can work closely with students and meet their individual learning needs. Students get more counseling about post secondary education and careers.
Students and parents decide what academic path is best for their interests and skills, and these paths are usually linked to community resources, interests and needs. Many school districts throughout the nation are implementing small schools and small learning communities and reporting success in stimulating student interest in learning, promoting greater interest in post secondary education and in reducing the number of students who drop out of school.
“I especially like the idea of the Small Learning Communities,” said Meridian businessman Steven Cooksey.
“I know if I were a student, I would especially be excited about that aspect of school,” Cooksey said. “When you’re in school, you don’t always know which direction you want to take careerwise. It would be great to have some knowledge and hands-on experience about a career before you devote years to it in college — only to find out later that it really is not what you wanted to do.”
The Small Learning Communities will be implemented in the school district whether the bond passes or not.
“This district and board are committed to the Small Learning Communities,” Wile said. “However, the bond issue is going to make them happen sooner.”

Community
also benefits

Several local businesses and organizations are lending their support to the Meridian Public School District bond. Last month, the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation’s Board of Directors endorsed the bond issue.
“We applaud Meridian Public Schools for addressing their needs and we encourage the voters of Meridian to support that bond issue so that we can position ourselves for a plant like Toyota in our future,” said Wade Jones, president of the EMBDC.
David Buckner, co-chairman of the EMBDC Education Committee and Meridian division manager for Mississippi Power Co., said there is a strong relationship between workforce, economic development and education.
“The objective of the EMBDC is to create new wealth and improve the standard of living for all residents as the EMBDC pursues the automotive, warehouse distribution, wood product, and aerospace industries,” Buckner said.
“To attract these projects to our area, we have to ensure that our schools are teaching the kind of curriculum that produces the workforce these companies require,” he said. “There is a direct relationship between the performance of our schools and growing our economic base.”
Wile said passage of the bond issue will assert the community’s commitment to public education to major companies and industries. However, that is only part of the solution.
“The bond issues are never the objective, but the necessary evil that goes along with a better, longer range plan,” he said. “But the community’s involvement in education is what matters most. The community must become more involved in education.”
Lynch said the current bond issue is not something the school board has entered into lightly.
“We finally have something here that the community can embrace,” Lynch said. “This is about the students and the city of Meridian — and the surrounding counties, because what happens here affects them as well.
“Will it solve all the problems we have? Certainly not. But if we continue to do what we have in the past and we don’t try something different, we’re going to continue to get the same results,” Lynch said.
“And those results are unacceptable — as a school district and as a community.”
That’s why Meridian businessman Charles Herron and others believe the time is right for the proposed school bond.
“I think it has a great chance of passing,” Herron said. “If we as a community are going to catch up to the Tupelos of the world today, we have got to have an advanced education system. I think we’re due, and I think if not now, then when?”

Operating Funds

Of Meridian Public School District’s dollars in the general operating fund, $4.5 million are earmarked for day-to-day, non-instructional operations of buildings:
The breakdown is as follows:
• Salaries, wages and employee benefits: ................... $2,383,883
• Utilities (water, power, heat and phone): ................ $1,156,082
• Contract services: ....................................................... $387,000
• Property insurance: .................................................... $146,721
• Travel: ............................................................................. $3,500
• Supplies: ...................................................................... $380,000
• Equipment: .................................................................... $97,304

MPSD attempts to budget $500,000 each year for what is called “intermediate repairs,” which is more than just the routine day-to-day maintenance needs.

Source: Meridian Public School District

Meridian Public School District
School Bond 2007 Proposed Expenditures

School Project Cost

Air Conditioning $1,050,000

Carver Middle School A/C multi-purpose room
Crestwood Elementary A/C cafetorium
Harris Elementary A/C cafeteria dining areas
Magnolia Middle School A/C cafeteria dining area
Northwest JH/West Hills A/C cafeteria dining area
Oakland Heights Elem. A/C dining area
Parkview Elementary A/C cafeteria dining area
Poplar Springs Elem. A/C cafeteria dining area
Witherspoon A/C cafeteria dining area

Renovations $5,250,000

Carver Middle School Elevator
Crestwood Elementary Classroom renovations
Harris Elementary Classroom renovations
Magnolia Middle School Classroom renovations
Magnolia Middle School Retaining wall repairs
Meridian High School Main classroom building renovations
Meridian High School Elimination of traffic through campus
Meridian High School Auditorium seating replacement
Meridian High School Tennis courts
Meridian High School Track and field
Northwest Junior High Classroom renovations
Oakland Heights Elem. Classroom renovations
Parkview Elementary Classroom renovations
Poplar Springs Elem. Classroom renovations
West Hills Classroom renovations

Small Learning Communities $3,000,000

Meridian High School Facility renovations and configuration for:
Arts & Culture SLC
Health SLC
Business & Technology SLC
Academic Challenge SLC

New School • 9th Grade $10,200,000

Meridian High School Ninth-grade school

Projects Total $19,500,000

Source: Meridian Public School District

WHO VOTES?

Voters who live in the city of Meridian and those who live in the Meridian Separate School District are eligible to vote in the March 27 election.
Voters may also vote by absentee ballot at the Temporary City Hall (2412 Seventh St. — across from Meridian Museum of Art) Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, March 24, from 8 a.m.-noon.

Here are the polling places in Meridian:

Ward 1

• Precinct 1A: Poplar Springs Elementary School
• Precinct 1B: Northcrest Baptist Church

Ward 2

• Precinct 2A: Jaycees Building
• Precinct 2B: Velma Young Community Center

Ward 3

• Precinct 3A: Frank Cochran Center
• Precinct 3B: MSU-Meridian Campus
• Precinct 3C: Northwest Junior High

Ward 4

• Precinct 4A: Multi County Community Service Agency
• Precinct 4B: Mt. Olive Baptist Church
• Precinct 4C: Council of Organizations

Ward 5

• Precinct 5A: Central Fire Station
• Precinct 5B: Tuxedo Community Center
• Precinct 5C: Temple Theatre Ballroom
• Precinct 5D: Crestwood School
• Precinct 5E: Meridian High School

Here are the polling places within the Meridian Separate School District:

• Precinct 127 Bailey: Bailey Fire Station
• Precinct 544 Meehan: Meehan Fire Station
• Precinct 450 Pickard: Mt. Vernon Baptist Church
• Precinct 455 Sageville: Sageville Community Center
• Precinct 550 South Nellieburg: Lost Gap Fire Station
• Precinct 361 Suqualena: Macedonia Baptist Church
• Precinct 563 Valley: South Lauderdale Fire Station
• Precinct 567 Zero: Long Creek Fire Station

Town Hall Meeting

A School Bond Town Hall Meeting will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the East Mississippi Electric Power Association auditorium on Highway 39. School officials will be available to answer the public’s question about the proposed school bond that will be voted on during a special election March 27. The meeting will air live on WTOK-TV.

People's Poll : What do you think?

Where do you stand on the Meridian Public School District's proposed bond issue and why?

• Barbara Wells, 56, Meridian, Director of Meridian Activity Center
"I'm undecided because I've been reading a lot of opinions about it and while I was for it, now I see that it's like putting a band aid on a sore spot. So I want to learn more about the issue."

• Jeannette Nelson, 52, Meridian, cashier
"They need to pass it, because the ninth-graders need a place. These schools are outdated and it's time for a change."

• Ikie Ethridge, 78, Meridian, retired educator, supervisor
"I think that it needs to be looked at some more before it's passed because while yes the ninth-graders need something they could do other things like Kate Griffin could be restored. I know we need some things done but I would like to see people look at what Peavey has to say on the issue more."