By Taylor Castro
Members of the Mahomet-Seymour community have been sharing their opinions of the Bulldog Blueprint with the school board. The Bulldog Blueprint, a $97.9 million bond issue, will appear on the June 28 ballot.
Board members have been debating the logistics of this plan for over a year. At the February 22 meeting, the recommendation, to move forward with a referendum, passed with a vote of 4-3.
Like the feelings of the board members, those in the community have echoed similar concerns and mixed opinions on a proposal that will add classroom space while also raising the district’s tax rate significantly. Community members have had a variety of experiences throughout this process.
Jill Kellner (YouTube video @33:54) believes that the process of forming the referendum has listened to many voices in the community and that the plan meets their needs. Kellner said that while the original plan to only build a junior high was cheaper, it did not solve all of the problems.
“My experience was that many voices were heard. For years, I have heard people say that our community prioritizes athletics over arts. This plan listened to those voices and includes a very nice performing arts addition to the high school and Lincoln Trail,” Kellner said at the March 21 board meeting.
The Bulldog Blueprint plan included a new Mahomet-Seymour Junior High School; demolishing the old junior high school; adding a 35,000 square feet fine arts addition, renovating 11,800 square feet where the band, choir and art classrooms currently are (potential classrooms), providing about $2.4 million in tech upgrades, placing turf on the football, baseball and softball fields along with adding a new JV turf field on-site; adding 25,000 square feet onto Lincoln Trail Elementary and renovating 10,200 square feet of the current building; providing new playground equipment and surface, and spending $2.2 million on technology upgrades; Middletown Prairie will get a 13,000 square foot addition and an outdoor play area; and the bus barn will be moved to the east campus where the junior high is projected to be built.
As to how much of this proposal gets done will depend on the price tag with Mahomet-Seymour Junior High and the bus barn, though. Per the question on the referendum, Mahomet-Seymour will only be required to build a junior high and bus barn, and upgrade another part of their facility.
However, others have felt that they have not been listened to. Tanya Schafer (YouTube video @12:13) went to committee meetings and encouraged her friends to as well, but attendance drastically declined over five sessions.
“I invited my friends to attend the meetings with me and they all reported that they didn’t feel it was a good use of their time because it was clear their input didn’t matter and the decision had already been made,” Schafer said at the January 18 board meeting.
She expressed how frustrating it was to discuss items in small groups. Schafer was also disappointed in the survey that was sent out, finding the questions “misleading” and “offensive.”
Doug Higgins (YouTube video @8:11) saw a different problem with the survey. Assumptions were made from it that could not be applied to the future. The growth projections and other data is difficult to predict 10 years ahead. He said that the survey response rate was 15-percent of households in the district, with many people not knowing about the referendum at all.
Higgins spoke to how the taxpayers need to be making an informed decision. He said that he has talked to people in his neighborhood who do not know about the referendum.
Kellner was concerned about how informed some board members are, although at the beginning of the process, board members were encouraged to take a back seat while the Bulldog Blueprint committee led the way.
Josh Jessup believes that a resounding tone, a unanimous vote, is needed from the board when moving forward. He used the words “thoughtful, inclusive and rational” to describe the direction to work in.
Through FOIA, the Mahomet Daily obtained emails from constituents that showed concern with the outcome of Bulldog Blueprint as early as Oct. 2021.
“I’m writing to request that you all consider hiring an outside/independent firm or group to look at ‘the how’ – to determine where schools should be in our community, what’s available, what’s needed, what land/property could be purchased or negotiated in to a future purchase and how to make that all work together,” Jessup wrote.
In order to be assessed properly, Michael McAnally said that a time commitment is needed. McAnally was involved in the Bulldog Blueprint efforts until October 2021 when he wrote the board with concerns about the Bulldog Blueprint process..
“As an example, I believe we had 30 minutes to review six different options in the last session that the committee had created for everyone to review. Honestly, I would probably need at least an hour to review each one and have the architect sit down with me to talk through all my questions.
“I would also need to see a great deal more financial information. I feel something this large needs a great deal more involvement from the administration and teachers. They are in the buildings every day and know what they need. I would guess most of our citizens have no idea of what our true needs are and what it takes to achieve them,” McAnally said.
With overcrowded classrooms in all four of Mahomet-Seymour buildings, many realize there is a sense of urgency to create a plan. John Koller thinks that is clouding a lot of the plans that are being discussed. While the urgency may be justifiable, Koller thinks the pressing need for space in schools may be the reason that the plan is not as productive as some community members would like it to be.
“l’m hopeful this Board will begin to take a generational look and make bigger, broader plans. The sense of urgency created within the Bulldog Blueprint is clouding rational thought and there is no plan for future expansion or growth beyond the piece of property (south of Middletown Prairie Elementary) that is currently being discussed. I’ve posed this question to those I’ve had the opportunity to speak with – if you had all the money available right now, would you build that school on that piece of property? I’ve not heard a resounding , YES, to that question ever. So, why are we even considering that then?
“So, in short – the sense of urgency is evident and somewhat justifiable but when given a choice do to something that would be productive and helpful, some believe it’s best (and ok) to sit on your hands and wait? This makes little to no sense to me.
“I have also offered up some alternatives, and with all honesty and transparency, none of them included building a new junior high today. While it was not in a negative manner, I feel that those who gave me the time to talk to them did not want to consider “starting over ” with this process or any other process.”
While some constituents are looking for a plan that will take the district out farther than the next decade, constituents like Jordan Rock (YouTube video @13:38) said that need is great right now. On a tour of Mahomet-Seymour Junior High, Rock saw, “classrooms were divided into two and have the same number of students on each side; the teacher’s lounge being used as a classroom; our guidance counselor working out of the closet. “It certainly is not becoming of a premier district in this area.”
Time is essentially of the essence with any construction plans as interest rates and construction costs continue to rise. Higgins talked about how inflation has affected the cost of everything, including the price of building materials. With an increase in school taxes, plus other household costs on the rise, he is unsure if families will be able to pay these expenses.
Ultimately, the final opinion of the Bulldog Blueprint lies in the hands of voters on June 28. Early voting begins at the Champaign County Clerk’s office on May 19.
The following is the FOIA response the Mahomet Daily received. Three emails were cited in this article. This response is also available on the Mahomet-Seymour website.
