Hello everyone!
The calendar has turned over to August and it is time to start thinking about the start of a new school year. This fall our community is being asked to make a very big decision that could change the Monticello Community School District for many future generations. We are asking the community for a $15 million dollar bond to pay part of the cost of a $26.5 million-dollar elementary school. It is probably a good thing we built a high school in the late 90’s for about $9.85 million dollars and the middle school for $22 million dollars in 2020. If we were building the high school today, we would spend around $40-$45 million dollars on that project. A new middle school today would cost us around $26-$28 million dollars on that project. Based on the current projections, if we wait to build an elementary school, we would be paying an additional $1 million dollars for each year that we wait. The best time financially to build an elementary school would have been several years ago, but since we do not have a time machine, the next best time financially is today. If we wait for 10 years to build an elementary school, we will certainly be paying north of $36 million dollars at that time. Imagine that…the cost would be more than it cost us for the new middle school and the high school added together!
No one out there wants to increase taxes…me included. Many times, when taxes are increased at the federal or state level, they do not change a community as much as a school building does. A school building has more of a personal relationship with a community. It affects you, friends, neighbors, children, and grandchildren. It is a place for our future leaders and community members to gather, learn, play, eat, and celebrate together. It is in many ways a home away from home for the children of our community. I have given a lot of tours of the new middle school and each time I see a similar response from our community members…their faces light up and instantly it becomes a point of pride in our community. If the community votes to build this, I believe a new elementary school would get the same response.
My job over the next few months is to inform you about the elementary school project. So be looking out for videos, newsletter articles, social media posts, forums, etc. If you are interested in learning more today, please visit our school website. I am asking you to please take some time to look at this information closely. I want you to enter the voting booth on November 5th as an informed voter.
If you would like to talk to me about this project, please feel free to send me an email and we can set up a time to meet.
Dr. Brian Jaeger
brian.jaeger@monticello.k12.ia.us