Questions for Superintendent Centered Around Facilities

Is there any chance of halting construction on Ankeny Centennial High School?

Why can't students attend the middle school closest to their house?

What happens if voters reject a bond issue next year for an addition to Southview Middle School?

Those were some of the questions aimed at Ankeny schools Superintendent Matthew Wendt Tuesday as parents of elementary students quizzed him.

About 50 people attended a public meeting in the auditorium led by Ankeny Community School District Superintendent Matthew Wendt. The meeting was one of four held to update parents on the overall state of the district. The series of meetings will conclude Thursday with one held for  and Ankeny High School parents.

“There’s a lot of rumbling in the community (about some of these issues),” said Ashley Rathjen, a parent who attended the meeting. “There have been a lot of things said by candidates running for school board that prompted me to come.”

Ankeny Centennial High School

Rathjen asked for Wendt’s opinion on whether the upcoming Sept. 13 school board election could affect the construction of Ankeny Centennial High School, scheduled to open in fall 2013.

“I’ve been told (the second high school will be completed) by all eight candidates running,” Wendt said. “I can’t imagine what the community will do if there’s any attempt at stopping the construction.

“When kids are intermixed with politics, kids will lose,” he said.

Middle School Feeder System

Dawn Thomas was concerned with how the transition to a two-part feeder system will affect her children once they reach middle school. They will pass the eighth- and ninth-grade building in the north system on the way to the south middle school they are assigned to, Thomas said. “I guess I fail to see the logic in where that stands.”

Wendt said her concern is something the board should address by creating a policy for internal open enrollment.

“We’ve received a flood of similar concerns,” he said. “The best answer is the boundaries are not about where we are today, but what we will have coming in for years.

“We have to plan out where the demographers are telling us where people are going to build,” he said.

Prairie Trail Elementary

Jeremy Bergwall, who lives in the area of the new Prairie Trail Elementary School, was concerned with access to the school once it opens in fall 2012.

“A large percentage of people live west of Prairie Trail, while the only access to it is from the east,” he said. “What is the plan to push roads through to Irvinedale Drive?”

Craig Hansel, the district’s chief financial officer who also was at the meeting, told Bergwall he is not aware of a plan that will allow access to Prairie Trail via Irvinedale Drive.

Wendt added the district meets with city of Ankeny officials on a monthly basis and assured Bergwall he would address the issue with city staff.

Next bond issue

Dan Eness, who has two daughters attending , had a big question for Wendt.

“With the construction of phase II of Southview Middle School completely reliant on a successful $15 million bond issue (in February 2012), what is the contingency plan if it does not pass?” Eness said.

Wendt said the district could hold another referendum as early as April 2012. If the referendum to complete Southview does not pass, he said, it could affect subsequent facility projects.

“This demonstrates the importance of following through with our board-approved facility plan,” Wendt said.