Voting on Johnston Schools' $41 Million Bond Issues Starts Friday

School district residents who choose to vote on June 25 will go to the polls between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Click here to view a list of polling places by precinct.

There is one last public information meeting coming up next week for voters to ask questions and learn more about the issue. The date and location is:

• Public Meeting #5 – Summit Middle School, June 11, 6 p.m.

This is the second attempt to win voter approval for the referendum, which will include constructing a new high school and renovating other buildings. The school board cut the price tag by $10 million from last year's failed bond issue and further refined the needs versus wants for the district, according to the district website.

Meanwhile, school board member John Dutcher wrote in an opinion piece, "Though I do support construction of a new high school, I am not in support of the $112 million district facilities plan as presented, nor the amount of the bond referendum," ... "In my review of the data, no support can be found for adding any additional elementary classroom capacity to our district’s facilities in the near future."

Supporters are using internet sites to spread the word. There is a Bond 2013 site set up with numbers, architect drawings and more. A recent feature on the site is more than two dozen YouTube videos that feature former U.S. Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling, Beaver Creek Elementary Principal Eric Toot, school district executive director of financial services Jan Miller-Hook, Johnston parent Courtney Chabot Dreyer and others making the case for passage.

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Topics of the short videos include:

• How are portable classrooms current affecting students?
• If the bond decreased, why are estimated taxes unchanged?
• How are high school environments changing?
• How is overcrowding affecting Beaver Creek staff?
• Why I love Johnston as a place to work and learn.

If the vote passes with a 60 percent super-majority, the $41 million would be put toward five construction projects that would alleviate the overcrowding issues experienced at Johnston High School, Johnston Middle School, Beaver Creek Elementary, Horizon Elementary, and space and programming needs at Wallace Elementary.

The revised facilities plan includes:

• New 10-12 high school north of 62nd Avenue and west of 100th Street ‐ $81 million – completed in 2016
• Renovation to existing high school to house 8th and 9th grade students ‐ $4 million – completed in 2016
• Renovation of the existing middle school on 62nd Avenue to house elementary students by moving Wallace Elementary to that building, along with district preschool. ‐ $16 million ‐ completed in 2017
• Furniture Fixtures and Equipment ‐ $6 million
• Renovation of the existing Wallace Elementary to meet district needs ‐ $5 million ‐ completed in 2018

With the $41 million in general obligation bonds, the remaining $71 million needed for the complete project will come from existing physical plant and equipment levy and sales tax funds, the district says. Approval of the measure would result in a slight property tax increase, which has not yet been released.