SWL Bond Issue

#1 MORE STRAIGHT TALK

About the SWL Bond Issue

 

Q: Why do we need additional space now?  Isn't it true that SWL has had very little growth in recent years?

 

A:  SWL has had modest but steady growth for a long time and has been significantly overcrowded for many years.  Twenty years ago we had 3,027 students, ten years ago we had 3,505, and the estimated official enrollemnt for this school year is 3,943.  (Note: all calculations follow rules established by the Ohio Department of Education.)  Thus, we have gained over 900 students in twenty years, or over 400 in the past ten years.  This growth has been accommodated by maximizing class size as much as possible, by modest additions to Kirkersville Elementary School, by converting non-teaching spaces to education purposes, and by adding portable classrooms to two elementary schools.  The reality of overcrowding is reflected in the judgment of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) that our master plan is appropriate both for current needs and for the immediat future. 

 

Q:  Is SWL padding its enrollment figures by including preschool students enrolled in Flying Colors Preschool, which occupies the old kindergarten center?

 

A:  No, it is not.  The only preschool students who are counted are those SWL children that we are required to educate because they have been identified as having special needs.  Currently, that number is 34.  This is actually the lowest number in six years.  Flying Colors, which is operatied by the Licking County Educational Service Center, has a much larger enrollment; its students come from more than one school district and are enrolled in a variety of educational programs.

 

Q:  Won't additional buildings require a large increase in staff?  Won't that require a large additional operating levy?

 

A:  There will be a modest increase in staff, as follows:  one principal, one asistan principal or "teacher on special assignment" (TOSA), one guidance counselor, five teachers, two secretaries, and three custodians.  Treasurer Richard Jones has already anticipated these positions and included them in the five-year projections that he sends regularly to the Ohio Department of Education.  Regardless, our current five-year operating levy will need to be renewed in 2014 or 2015; if additional operating funds are requested then or at a later date, the increases will be modest and may include funding for such outcomes as "all day, every day" kindergarten and additional STEM (science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) programming at the upper levels.

 

Q:  Why do I hear that the bond issue is for $109 million dollars?

 

A:  The bond issue is for $66,525,366.  The larger number includes the $42,462,230 that the State of Ohio has promised through OFCC.  The total procject cost is $108,987,596.