The Heartland School Board was at the Bradshaw Community Center this Monday night to share important information about the upcoming May 14 Bond Election and answer questions.
The Heartland School Board held its first of four informational meetings about the upcoming bond election on Monday evening, March 18th, at the Bradshaw Community Center. The public was invited to hear details and pertinent information about the $6,850,000 bond initiative.
Even if you know little or a lot about Heartland’s second bond initiative, this meeting made the project’s history perfectly clear, including the specifics of what will be built and upgraded and how much it will cost. Klein called the larger project the target project the Heartland Board is pursuing. He emphasized that the $6,850,000 and previous 2022 passed bond of $7,000,000 are turnkey, meaning they include everything needed to complete the target project.
Board members present to share information on various aspects of the project were Gary Braun, Lacey Gloystein, Jennifer Hiebner, and Tyler Newton. Two individuals from the architect and design firm Clark & Enersen were on hand to answer any questions.
Those attending the meeting were given a handout summarizing all aspects of the project. The project is divided into three tiers:
TIER A: These improvements will be made whether the May 14th bond initiative passes or fails:
- New Early Childhood /Day Care Facility
- New Pre-K Playground
- Add fire sprinkling to existing building & new construction
- Replace & upgrade power supply to building
- Replace & upgrade electrical switch panels, breaker panels, and wiring feeding breaker panels
- Replace, upgrade & unify fire alarm system.
TIER B: Some of these improvements will still happen if the bond election fails, with the financing provided by the 2022 bond proceeds. Some of these improvements could still happen if the bond election fails, but the Board would have to seek additional funding through the utilization of qualified capital purpose undertaking funding in addition to the 2022 bond proceeds. Such funding may or may not be accessible to the Board.
- Main entrance/office expansion & renovation
- Connection between Vo-Ag building & main building
- Replace/upgrade bleachers in Main gym
- HVAC & AC in Main gymn
TIER C: None of these improvements can be completed without the passage of the May 14th bond initiative:
- 4-Classroom Elementary addition
- Rear-stage access to theater stage
- New first-floor weight room
- New boys & girls locker rooms
- New therapy & injury treatment room
Superintendent Klein explained the project’s projected 6.5 cent levy increase and how Heartland’s levy will be the sixth lowest of 21 districts after this increase. If the bond initiative passes, this increased levy will not go into effect until 2025, according to Klein.
“The proposed early childhood/daycare center will proceed regardless of the May 14 bond election outcome. We have no aspirations to run this facility but are simply providing the assets and infrastructure to partner with the community to do so,” said Klein. He added that the school already provides services for many children in daycare, and having the building on site will be much more convenient.
He also addressed the possible scenario of the daycare being closed for some reason in the future. He gave a long list of possible uses for the building, such as learning labs, professional development space, and preschool rooms.
Safety and security issues are one of the top concerns driving the target project:
- The new weight room would be ADA-accessible. All doors could be sealed off from the rest of the building, including a tornado-proof hardened space.
- With the addition of new girls, boys, and official locker rooms, access will be controlled so athletes and referees won’t have to cross other areas of the school.
- The bleachers will be widened, making navigating safer for those with mobility issues.
- The current school entrance has a split office, making it difficult to monitor who enters the building. With the new entryway design, all visitors would have to gain entrance through one office area.
- The enclosure of an entrance to the Ag-Shop building would keep kids from having to leave the building.
- Upgrading the existing fire alarm system & electrical infrastructure.
Here is the schedule for the remaining informational meetings:
The Heartland website has complete and up-to-date information about the upcoming election.
