Articles from Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise recapped here on upcoming $36.72 Million bond proposal to be voted on September 10, 2013.
The Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise paper is running a series by David Austin on the upcoming bond election.
Special thanks to Gary Kilpatrick for making the first two articles available to me. I don’t get or read the newspaper. I am interested in what they are telling people about this election. Here are the scans of those articles so you can read them for yourselves.
I will highlight a few items for you from these articles first:
Bartlesville High School was built in 1939. Recent school bond issues based in 2001 and 2007 have resulted in new facilities being added to the campus as well as updating the heating and air systems and other structural repairs.
On Tuesday September 10th, a school bond of $36.72 [million was omitted here but is included in the next article] will go before the voters.
The article says the bond will result in no tax increase [does that mean ever or just in the current year?].
The bond includes upgrades and renovations to Central Middle School and the Bartlesville Middle School facility.
The plan calls for the current Madison Middle School to be demolished while BHS would be expanded to accommodate all of the districts students from grades 9-12.
The proposal features security upgrades throughout the district as well.
The article goes on to recap previous bond elections and what was done with that money.
David Austin is the co-chair of the communications sub-committee for the Bartlesville Public School District’s Long Range Facilities Planning Committee.
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This is the second article in the series on the upcoming school bond election. In this article it clearly states that the proposal is for $36.72 million.
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The changes will result in ninth graders being included in a four year high school around the district.
Among the highlights of the bond would be the upgrade and expansion of Bartlesville High School to accommodate all BPSD freshman and sophomores as well.
The articles says the studies show that by eliminating a transition from one school to another, students often fare better. So, eliminating the mid high concept (9th and 10th grade), a transition would be eliminated.
The anticipated short turn around time on bond passage to project completion is credited to the partnership between the city and the school district and using a ‘conduit financing agreement with the city’.
The conduit financing between BPSD and the City of Bartlesville creates a trust authority which is required to take advantage of the historically low construction costs and interest rates that are present today.
Projects related to BHS would be completed in approx 2 years; all projects finished in three years.
Clearly quality education / schools are important to any city. The city leaders and the school district leaders seem to be working together on these projects.
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My nagging question is whether we can ever get to the place where we live within our means both individually and collectively? It seems we have a bond election every year. Clearly if a city is growing, then we must expand to take care of needs based on the growth. I sincerely hope the taxpayer’s best interests are being represented in this proposal and we are insisting on the best possible for the children of this community — including being free from debt. I would like to see plans to pay down the debt and reduce taxes for everyone.
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VOTING
Anyone who lives in the Bartlesville school district and was registered with the appropriate county election board by August 16, 2013 is eligible to vote on Tuesday, September 10.
LINK: Locate your polling place. ABSENTEE BALLOTS The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is September 4 at 5 p.m. EARLY VOTING on 9/6 and 9/9 (no absentee ballot needed) Registered voters can also vote BEFORE the election at the county election board office, 420 S. Johnstone for Washington County voters, on Friday, September 6, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or on Monday, September 9, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. REGULAR VOTING on 9/10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at your local polling place. |
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More information on the bond election here >>> (voting chart from this site)
Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them
Finding Gems and Sharing Them 