The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

Discussion

July 9, 2008

Jasper board continues to refine building project

By Dustin Shipman

dshipman@joplinglobe.com

JASPER, Mo. — Members of the Jasper School Board this week obtained a better view of a construction project it plans to propose to voters.

But the clock for the $4.7 million bond-issue election is ticking, and plans are still being refined. The final version of the proposed project is to be presented to the superintendent on July 18, and then disseminated to the public with little time to spare before the Aug. 5 bond-issue vote.

Brandon Dake, an architect representing Dake Wells Architecture of Springfield, presented a three-dimensional computer design of the proposed construction project for the board.

The proposal features building a new competition gym to replace the current high-school gym. There are also plans to add a new music room, elementary and high-school offices, a cafeteria and kitchen, and four classrooms on a second floor adjacent to the gym.

Tim Atnip, president of the board, said the plan is something the board has been working on since a proposal was rejected by voters in April.

“With this design we will be able to capitalize on the way our elevation falls off to the north and add a second story for classrooms,” he said.

The session marked Dake’s third meeting with the school board, and plans are still being refined.

“They brought me a priority list of what they need,” Dake said of the board’s request. “They knew they did not have enough money to do everything, so we have been working on trying to get the most out of the money that we could. The last architect that they had found a way to get about half of what they needed, but we have been able to get a lot more.”

Atnip said the bond limit for the district is set at $4.7 million. But the total cost of the elementary and high-school construction is projected to be just more than $5 million. Atnip said the difference would be made up through money in the district’s capital projects fund.

The district’s current school levy is $3.21 per $100 assessed valuation. If voters approve the bond, annual school taxes on a home valued at $100,000 — now $609.90 — would increase by about $180 per year, officials said before the April election.

“School bonds are always hard to pass, and in rural area such as ours, it is even more difficult because the burden falls on so few people,” Atnip said. “In Joplin, a $4.7 million bond is nothing, but here it is going to cost some money. I really believe that if people will come look at this picture and see the whole thing, then I think it is going to help. Our main focus is to make it economical and affordable; not cheap or elaborate, but something we can be proud of and afford.”



Next meeting

The Jasper School Board will next meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 24.

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