Superintendent Rick Johnston shared a proposed 20-year facility outlook for the Mahomet-Seymour School District with board members on Dec. 4.
The plan, which reflects input from staff, administration, school board and community members, bonding consultants and specialized committees, also included a proposed 5-year upgrade and maintenance plan for the current facilities. Johnston believes the 5-year plan puts the District on the right path for financially responsible growth.
“We created a model where the tax rate does not climb while we are doing these projects,” Johnston said. “We have the ability to do that.”
Although the district has seen annual growth from the one-percent Champaign County sales tax, both plans were conservatively designed on a zero-growth model. Since 2009, Champaign County schools have received money from a one-percent Champaign County sales tax to help with construction projects.
Johnston said without the sales tax revenue, the Mahomet-Seymour School District would look like many other districts in Illinois which are just trying to keep their heads above water.
The proposed 5-year plan marks $400,000 in sales tax revenue for upgrades and maintenance which may lead to the potential relocation of seven grade levels to the 77-acre property located just off IL 150 along the east side of the Village within the next 20 years.
“The decision to do all these things are not set in stone right now,” Johnston said. “That’s what people need to understand. What we tried to create is the direction we think we need to go. That’s what we laid out so we can work toward that vision knowing that it could very well change when we get to those benchmarks in time.”
The district purchased the property in 2010 with the intention of school reorganization. Preschool and kindergarten classrooms will move to the new early childhood center when it is complete in the summer of 2014.
The new early childhood center was built with 8 to 10 percent growth in mind. The design includes two extra kindergarten classrooms than what the district currently has, and one extra Pre-K classroom, which will hold a morning and afternoon section.
Johnston rejected community rumors that Mahomet-Seymour High School would be the next building to move to the east side of town. School board members viewed a rendering provided by Ittner Architects which showed phase two and phase three to include the relocation of Sangamon Elementary and Mahomet-Seymour Junior High School over 20 years.
As landlocked properties which are in dire need of maintenance and upgrades, MSJHS and Sangamon have no room for growth. Sangamon was built in 1951 and remodeled in 1988. It currently holds 439 students.
MSJHS was built in 1960 with additions in 1971, 1994 and 2011. Principal Heather Landrus said the school is at, if not over capacity with 688 students.
With completion of the new childhood center in sight, Johnston believes the school board will begin to consider phase two of the project within the next year.
While Middletown Early Childhood Center will be torn down after it is vacated, Johnston believes Sangamon can be an asset to the district’s financial plan. In consideration of moving Sangamon, the board will consider the value of the current property while being mindful of maintenance and upgrades over the next couple years.
“When we add air conditioning to the second floor of Sangamon, it adds value to that building,” Johnston said. “If it doesn’t, then we can take those commercial units with us, and put them in other areas if we need to.”
With a middle school concept in mind, phase three of the proposed plan includes the junior high with minimal athletic facilities including two baseball fields, a football field and a track.
Johnston said the property has been designed with surrounding neighborhoods in mind. The buildings will be located on the east side of the property with athletic fields, walk ways and playgrounds as a buffer. Trees and bushes will also be planted along the property-line on the west side of the property.
Based on sales tax estimates and bond payments, construction on a $14 million first and second grade facility could start as early as 2016 and a $25 million middle school could start as early as 2022.
Both school board members and Johnston agreed that while they can make safe projections, they do not know what finances or the educational environment will look like in 10 years.
“When we lay a timeline out like that, they are benchmarks in time,” he said. “Within the next year, here’s phase two. Let’s go. In 8 to 10 years when that opportunity comes again, the decision makers at that time will make the best decision they can. It’s our job to try to put them in the best light we can so when they get there, they can make good decisions.”
Lincoln Trail Elementary and Mahomet-Seymour High School are not landlocked properties and have the space for additions, if needed.
*Upcoming articles:
Dec. 16-A look at the district’s proposed 5-year plan
Dec. 23-A look at the district’s proposed athletic facility plan
