TROY – If attendance at a community forum is any indication, there’s a lot of apathy in the Lincoln County R-3 school district regarding Proposition Kids.

Superintendent Matt Fredrickson and Community Relations Director Audrey Henebry led the forum March 13, which not including school personnel, attracted a crowd of less than 10.

Despite the small crowd, Henebry and Fredrickson enthusiastically discussed the highlights of the $80 million school bond proposal that would fund expansion of the ninth grade center in a second high school along with numerous other improvements throughout the district.

“It’s fun to think about building learning environments that our students will thrive and prepare them for the skills they need in the 21st century,” Fredrickson stated early in the forum.

Promoted as a no tax levy increase, the district would maintain the current $4.76 rate per $100 assessed valuation by extending the $1.3750 debt levy for an additional 20 years. The debt levy currently expires in March 2037.

Henebry broke down the $80 million project by stating the largest portion, or $26 million, would be spent on expanding the ninth grade center into Troy Buchanan South. This would include building eight traditional classrooms, six science labs, expanding the choir room, adding six program specific workshop spaces and a safe room.

Other projects covered by the remaining $54 million include:

• Troy Buchanan renovations ($20 million). The current high school campus would undergo classroom renovations, the construction of a multipurpose gym, and a safety enclosure walkway from TBHS to the Hungate Performing Arts Center.
• Hawk Point Elementary expansion ($8 million). The second oldest building in the district would receive a secure entryway, accessible library, storm shelter, special education classrooms and a pre-k classroom.
• Facility maintenance and updates ($15.3 million). Miscellaneous projects would include roof repairs and replacement at Troy Middle School, HVAC and lighting updates at Cuivre Park Elementary and the Ninth Grade Center, and gym floor replacement at Boone and Lincoln Elementary schools.
• Land acquisition and technology ($10 million). Allows for purchase for land for the next middle school and elementary school, smart panel updates for secondary schools, audio enhancement district wide and desktop computer upgrades.

Henebry explained the school largely relies on local taxpayers for most of its revenue at 54 percent last year. The remainder of the school’s funding came from the state (39 percent) and the federal government (7 percent).

Fredrickson highlighted the average per pupil cost statewide is $15,915, compared to just $12,828 in the Lincoln County R-3 school district. However, he also pointed out the federal and state revenues that provide nearly half the needed funds to meet those expenses are unreliable at best.

Beyond the possibility of President Donald Trump dissolving the Department of Education and potentially the funding that comes from it, Fredrickson said he’s just as concerned if not more so with open enrollment legislation being discussed in Jefferson City.

Fredrickson explained school districts would be forced to accept any student who wanted to attend, regardless of residency, which would create an even larger financial strain. He said while the receiving district would receive the state funding, the local tax dollars generated by the transferring student’s family would stay with the home school district.

“So if the Senate Bill version of open enrollment is passed, which is mandatory participation, you could have a student from the Wentzville school district decide they want to come here to Troy,” Fredrickson said. “If it’s a mandatory participation, you have to open seats they come. And so the state the money that follows the student is about 39 percent of what it costs to educate that students. Our local taxpayers would be required to come up with that difference.”

For the bond to pass at the April 8 election, 4/7 of voters will have to approve it.