District to Create Plan for Facilities Needs

Improvements to school heating and air-conditioning systems, tennis courts, bleachers, bathrooms and other maintenance issues were among the priorities the Mehlville School Board spelled out in a district retreat on Saturday.

The board met to discuss goals and priorities for the 2011-12 school year. With four new board members, a new superintendent and the failure of a tax increase proposal in November, the board had a long agenda detailing budget priorities, facilities, . 

The board asked Superintendent Eric Knost to develop a facilities plan for one, three and five years into the future.

Knost outlined several improvements he’d like to see in the district ranging from the district’s heating and air-conditioning systems to roofs, floors, lockers, bleachers, boilers and storm drainage systems.

“I think it is important we maintain clean, safe, the most efficient we can, and respectable classrooms and teaching spaces,” he said, adding that the district was past the goals it outlined in its Prop P building improvement plan.

The 2011-12 budget for capital improvements tallies $1.3 million, down one-third from the previous school year. The funds now are reserved for surprise maintenance repairs, such as heating and air systems and replacing the fire alarm system at both Mehlville and Oakville high schools, something the fire marshal told the district was needed in the near future.

The board and superintendent said that for now, maintenance and upkeep of existing buildings was more important than new construction or major renovations.

Knost said he heard from people throughout the district that the restrooms for the MHS football stadium need to be addressed. Now, the school uses Johnny on the Spot bathrooms and the few stalls that are in the pool building.

Knost also said he would like to see the tennis courts improved.

“We have let tennis and our support of tennis… it’s non-existent in this district,” he said, noting that there were no tennis courts at MHS and poor ones at OHS. ”The community also uses those courts.”

Board member Mark Stoner asked Director of Facilities Steve Habeck if the district was at the bare minimum with facilities.

Habeck said the district was at the limit for delays in repairs. Some heating and air-conditioning systems were 22 to 25 years old. Some schools, such as Buerkle Middle School, have water infiltration issues, while Wohlwend Elementary has a drainage problem.

Stoner said he would like to see 3 percent of the budget moved over to the capital fund every year. In future years, that percent would ideally increase to up to 7 and 8 percent.

Knost suggested the district “work in reverse;” come up with a dollar amount to use and develop a plan on how to use that amount.

“We’ll take $2 million and give you a great plan with that $2 million. We’ll take $22 million and give you a great plan with that $22 million,” Knost said. “We’ve got the projects, the needs.”

Rich Franz suggested the district find $3 million in the current operating budget, and if it can’t be done, take a bond issue to the public.

The district already made cuts in the budget totaling $4.6 million to balance it; to cut more would be difficult without cutting staff or increasing class size, Knost said.

Chief Financial Officer Noel Knobloch estimated that a bond issue of 10-cents per $100 assessed value with current rates would accumulate $23 million over 20 years.

The decision to spend money on facilities or save was the question, Knobloch said. In the 2012-13 school year, the state will no longer receive stimulus funds that it has been using to supplement state education funding. That hole will total $500 million statewide and could decrease the school district’s state funding.

Knobloch told the board the district’s reserves are the strongest Mehlville has had in the last 20 years, totaling $14 million or 17.5 percent.  

“A lot of other school districts, when they sit down and strategically plan… the first question you ask is how much does it cost, and where are we going to get the money to do it,” Knost said. “The first question we ask is how do we accomplish this with what we have.”