Wentzville School District Voters to Consider Prop 3

On April 5, voters in the have the opportunity to take another look at an issue first placed before them last fall.

The district is asking voters to approve Proposition 3, a 30-cent tax levy. The funds generated by the levy would be used to construct additional classroom space. 

The passage of issue would raise an estimated $60 million for the construction of new facilities. Superintendent Dr. Terry Adams recommended putting a sunset clause or expiration date on the tax.

"Once the debt is retired we can and should eliminate the requested levy," Adams said. 

The initiative first appeared on the . 

In the November election, Prop 3 failed by a margin of 1,054 votes—12,318 No votes to 11,264 Yes votes, according to the St. Charles Election Commission. 

School officials said the district is growing by leaps and bounds and the current facilities at the middle school and high school level won't be able to contain the number of children in the primary grades. 

Adams, in presentations to local groups, including the ,said that the levy is needed to continue programs like full-day kindergarten.

"We've had 121-percent growth between 2000 and 2010," Adams said. "We are the fastest growing district in the state."

There are now 71,390 residents living within the boundaries of the Wentzville R-IV District, up 39,048 over the count from the 2000 census. The City of alone grew 322 percent, according to .

The Wentzville R-IV School District covers all or part of the cities of Wentzville, Lake Saint Louis, O'Fallon, Foristell and Dardenne Prairie. All five areas saw population explosions over the past 10 years. 

There are nearly 13,000 students enrolled in Wentzville schools, and according to Adams, that number is growing by an average of 650 students each year.

"There are 12,631 students in the district now; by the beginning of the 2011-12 school year that number will be 13,196," Adams said. "We will reach 16,000 students in the near future."

Adams said the younger classes are getting bigger and bigger.

"The kindergarten, first and second grades are our largest classes," he said.

The funds would be used to add some additional classrooms at the elementary level, several in middle school and would fund the construction of a new high school.

According to Matt Deichmann, the district's director of community relations, the district has identified a general area for the high school and will be ready to begin work immediately if the levy passes.

"We have been working on this for a long time," he said. "We are ready to hit the ground running if the voters approve the funding."

The following is a list of projects that will be funded if Prop 3 passes on April 5. Also included is an estimated completion date.

• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at Lakeview Elementary, fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at Discovery Ridge Elementary, fall 2012
• Four new classrooms at Crossroads Elementary, fall 2012
• Four new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Twenty classrooms at , fall 2012
• Four classrooms at , fall 2012
• A new high school, fall 2013

Adams said the district would have to consider reconfiguring rooms if Prop 3 does not pass. 

"We will have to take offices and use them as reading rooms or rooms for art and music," he said. "We have seven traveling teachers now. That number could be 40 by 2014."  

Adams said the district has 11 modular classrooms now to accommodate the number of students currently enrolled. The use of modulars would increase as enrollment goes up and Prop 3 doesn't pass, Adams said.

"These will cost $150,000 each in 2012," Adams told the Chamber recently. "That money comes directly from our operating fund, which impacts other spending."

Full-day kindergarten also might be eliminated if classroom space became a high premium. Class sizes would likely increase, which is in direct opposition to the district's Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP).

"We are out of space," Adams said. "The children are here, and we believe that today's fifth graders will become next year's sixth graders, so we need to find a way to house them." 

The Wentzville School District has been given high marks by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for providing quality education to its students. 

The district was named one of DESE's Distinction in Performance districts for 2010-11.

The district's current tax levy is $4.58 per $100 of assessed valuation. Proposition 3, if approved, would bring that to $4.88 per $100.

The elementary school expansions, which will add classrooms onto existing school facilities, are estimated at around $14.4 million.

Expansion at the two middle schools is estimated at $9.4 million and a new high school facility is in the range of $36-40 million. 

The new high school will be able to house between 1,000 and 1,200 students and will have all the amenities and have, with the exception of a second gym and auditorium.

$100,000

$150,000

$114

There has been little public questioning of the need for additional classrooms. Opposition to Prop 3 has come from those against any new taxation and those that believe that the district can find the funds through tighter fiscal control of current funds.

R-IV Board member Dale Schaper also expressed concern about paying off previous bond issues.

There are three seats open on the school board. Each candidate was asked by the Wentzville Patch for their opinion on Proposition 3. The candidates are listed as they will appear on the April 5 ballot.

Heather Rieter

Self, Mutert and Tieman all expressed concern with a tax issue but did not expressly come out against it to the Wentzville Patch.