The Stevensville School Board has voted to run two construction bonds in both the elementary and high school districts before voters in May. The bonds total over $20 million.
The superintendent for the Stevensville Public School District, Robert Moore, says they will address significant needs for both the kindergarten through 3rd-grade elementary building and for the high school -- especially for the high school.
“We have a 1958 building -- that was when building construction began -- with two additions in the '70s. And virtually no renovations have taken place to the high school building since that time.”
The proposed bond for the Stevensville High School District is over $14 million. The proposal for the elementary school district is just over $6.3 million.
If passed, the bonds will add classroom space, update buildings, increase energy efficiency and improve parking, among other projects.
Moore says for a home valued at about $100,000, the elementary school bond would add about $31 a year in taxes. The high school bond would add about $53 annually for that same home.
Stevensville Public Schools conducted a survey by mail in January to get community input after a similar pair of bonds failed last year. Moore says they saw support for renovations of both schools.
“But there’s also a lot of interest from people in the business community in developing our trades and agriculture and technology centers as well. And so Part of the 20-year plan was for a training center for trades, technologies and agriculture, and so we added that to the bond issue based on surveys.”
Ballots will be mailed out in mid-April. Moore says the districts plan to hold multiple informational meetings before that point.
