RELATED: Northeastern releases details for proposed $117M new schools
Voters will be asked to approve a 37-year, $77 million bond issue this November that would allow it to build two new schools to replace its aging ones. The state will pay an additional $40 million if voters approve the bond.
Passage of the bond would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $25 a month or $295 a year.
“I am cautiously optimistic,” Northeastern Superintendent John Kronour said. “There is a lot of positive vibes and a lot of people who wanted signs. It seems to be overall pretty positive on social media.”
The district needs new buildings, Kronour and board members have said. They aging schools need constant repairs, they lack electric infrastructure to educate kids using modern technology and in the case of Rolling Hills, it has no walls.
The plan now is to build a 188,000-square-foot new building near South Vienna School to serve the 1,100 students who attend the Northeastern part of the district. A 265,000-square-foot building would be built near Kenton Ridge High School for the 2,200 students who attend that portion of the district.
PREVIOUS: Northeastern board members debate $100M new school plans
Both schools would use the current sports stadiums, even though Northeastern would move closer to South Vienna.
Aerial drawings of the potential new buildings on the district's website at www.nelsd.org.
Many people who attended school board forums and meetings over the past year and a half have said they will support the issue. Parent Brittany Thompson said this week new schools are needed now.
“This upcoming building levy is of the utmost importance to the future of our schools,” she said. “I have paid school taxes before I had children and I voted yes for every school tax that came on the ballot, even when I really did not have the extra money. That’s because public education is that important.”
However some people have said they will vote no on the bond issue.
Resident Cathy Trimmer said during a September meeting that she believes the school is taking in enough money as it is and shouldn’t be coming to voters for more. One man in an earlier meeting stood up, threw down a paper with bond information on it and walked out after Kronour told him the projected cost of the project.
WHAT VOTERS SAY: Northeastern to survey residents on $100M new schools plan
People in downtown South Vienna had mix reviews regarding the bond issue. Some residents said they planned to vote no because of the costs but didn’t want their names reported.
Louie Toms, a parent in the district, said this week he supports the school bond issue. He said there’s a great need for new schools.
“It’s simply because the schools are outdated and they need new schools to learn in,” he said. “We need new high schools and the middle schools are no better.”
By the numbers:
3,300: Students enrolled Northeastern School Local
$117 million: Total cost to build two new k-12 schools
$77 million: Bond issue amount voters will decide on in November
$40 million: Amount the state has pledged to build schools if voters vote yes in November.
Continuing Coverage
The Springfield News-Sun has dug deep into the Northeastern bond issue and has covered the issue from the beginning. The Springfield News-Sun has gone inside the schools to show you what’s really going on.
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