By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

PIERCE CITY, Mo. — Voters in the Pierce City R-6 School District on Tuesday will decide the outcome of a $3.9 million bond issue that would be used to construct a new middle school and vocational-agriculture center.

The district earlier this year proposed to voters a $3.9 million bond issue and a $2.1 million lease-purchase agreement for construction of a new high school and vo-ag center. It was defeated at the polls.

Russ Moreland, superintendent of schools, said district officials shifted priorities after talking to residents.

“We got feedback from the community that we were asking for too much money,” he said. “We decided that we would scale back the project and go for a middle school, which we also need.”

Moreland said the vo-ag center would have offices, two classrooms, a shop, a greenhouse and a work yard for livestock. The two-story middle school would have 14 classrooms. It would be built near the high school so that middle-school students could share the high school’s cafeteria, library and gym.

The existing middle school is in the old high school building, which was constructed in 1921. The old school eventually would be demolished, but no plans are in place for that in the short term, said Moreland.

The district’s debt-service levy is 66 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If the bond issue is approved, it would increase by 33 cents. Property taxes on a $100,000 house would increase by about $62 a year, Moreland said.

The district’s total levy would increase from $3.41 to $3.74. The owner of the $100,000 home would see his annual school-tax bill increase from $647 to $710.

A four-sevenths majority is required for the measure to pass.

Moreland said the district could benefit from federal stimulus bonds with a 1 percent interest rate and from more competitive construction costs.

“We could, in this climate, get a lot more building for less money,” he said.

The district, he said, is about to start construction of a 4,200-square-foot addition on the south side of the gymnasium lobby. The $550,000 project, which is being financed with school district reserves, will be used for art and music instruction.