Minooka 201 going back to the ballot

MINOOKA – On April 2, the ballot will once again have a place for residents in the Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 to vote for a $50 million referendum to build and equip a new school, site improvements and construct a roadway adjacent to the property located on Seil Road in Shorewood.

During the regular board of education meeting held Dec. 17, superintendent Kris Monn, under board recommendation, presented the proposal for approval which allows the district to then submit the referendum for the spring ballot. If the board did not try for a third time this spring, the available election would be March of 2020 due to the absence of fall elections in odd years.

In the report submitted to the board, Minooka CCSD 201 has seen a 12.7 percent enrollment increase over the past five years. Just in the 2018-19 school year, over 50 new students enrolled after the academic year began. The report stated that six of the nine classes, kindergarten through eighth grade, exceed 500 students.

The main concern to the board has been the high enrollments at Minooka Intermediate which has been over capacity since the 2017-18 school year and the junior high which remains at capacity. The current sixth grade class which will go into the junior high next year, will put 100 more students into an already over crowded school.

During the past two tries at the polls, social media exploded with questions and the biggest hurdle, it seemed was the question about taxes. Monn said the way the board chose to structure the debt was to backload it so that the taxpayers should not see an immediate tax increase and as people move to the area, they will also help absorb the debt. Board member John Clucas said taxes may rise, but the district has maintained a steady tax rate.

"Chances of our (personal) tax rates going up may happen, we (Minooka CCSD 201)are going to keep the same tax rate, the thing is, your homes increased in value. When your homes increase in value, your taxes could possibly go up. I want to again say, we are not responsible for that,” Clucas said. “Do you know why your houses went up in value, because your school district is awesome?”

He went on to talk about how he has lived in the district over 20 years and has yet to see the enrollments go down in the schools.

“As it continues to go up, we have to keep up with our infrastructure. You know your police officers have to keep up, you gotta support them. Your fire department, do you wan to be the house that’s too far way and you can’t get a fire truck to your house? Everything that goes with infrastructure is what we’re talking about with schools,” Clucas said. “You have to pay for where you live.”

Additions to MIS and MJHS, trailers, debt, buildings on other parts of the property were other questions raised on social media and information nights during the previous referendum attempts. Monn and the board discussed that the buildings cannot hold additions and there was no room for outward additions. During the Nov. board meeting, the idea of trailers raised eyebrows due to the lack of security and some board members said they would vote no if it came to that solution. For those concerned with current debt payments, Monn mentioned that there was a $5 million principal payment on the district debt in 2018.

Regardless, plans need to be made for the 2018-19 year. Monn had the junior high administration staff on hand to discuss what could be done at the junior high due to the overcrowding. He said right now they will research and discuss all long term and short term possibilities. Some ideas were split schedules, off campus open building space, or keep the schedule and have teachers in rotating classrooms and offer a 9:30 a.m. lunch period.

Sarah Massey, MJHS Principal, fielded a question from board member Renee Thompson about teacher retention. Massey said the teachers want to be heard, especially if it comes to split schedules. She said she knows the main concern of the teachers has remained safety. She said she feels the school may lose some teachers if the split schedule was implemented, but she said if they cram more students into already crowded classrooms, teachers may leave for that reason as well.

The split schedule could have school hours such as 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many variables for parents, teachers, sports, extra curricular activities and transportation would need to be ironed out to make this a viable option. Massey said although not ideal, it would eliminate the number of bodies in the building at one time.

More information on the referendum and the junior high schedules will be discussed at board meetings in the 2019 year.

The board approved the final 2018 tax levy. Business manager Mary Robinson said there were not changes in the numbers from the Nov. 2018 meeting.

Preliminary property values for 2018 from Grundy County indicated a 4.9 percent increase, Kendall County a 9.78 percent increase and Will County 5.96 percent. Robinson said overall, if numbers held true, this would indicate a six percent property value increase for the district in 2018. The total tax rate is currently projected to come in between $3.30 and $3.36, currently the tax rate is $3.35, dependent on final Equalized Assessed Value (EAV).