NEOSHO -- On Tuesday, June 2, Neosho residents will vote on an operating levy proposal from the Neosho School District that will enhance early childhood programs and broaden educational opportunities for the district's students, while also providing an improved salary schedule to attract and retain the best teachers and staff.
Neosho School District superintendent Jim Cummins said the proposal would bring about a number of important improvements that students, staff, families and the community at large will appreciate.
"The proposal is a sensible, financially responsible proposal that will mean better times ahead for students, teachers and staff, families, and the communities the Neosho School District proudly serves," Cummins said. "Passage would generate valuable educational opportunities for the students in our district."
If approved by voters, the operating levy proposal will:
• Ensure student and staff safety by building storm shelters at Field Early Childhood and Central Elementary, and multipurpose shelters at Benton Elementary and Neosho Middle School, which will serve as early childhood education space and training and meeting space.
• Give more students a solid educational beginning by expanding Early Childhood Education on the east side of town through a new multipurpose space at Benton Elementary.
• Enhance art and music education by renovating existing art and music spaces and build a 1,500-seat performance hall at Neosho High School. The proposal will add dedicated band classrooms, and the existing auditorium and classroom space will be repurposed for choir and theater classrooms.
• Allow the district to attract and retain the best employees by providing teachers and staff salary increases through a Prop C Waiver, making the district's salary schedule more competitive with neighboring school districts.
• Improve opportunities for extracurricular participation with the addition of an End Zone Facility that provides indoor practice facilities, modern restrooms and accessible concession areas. The proposal will renovate Neosho High School locker rooms that were built in the 1950s. Building the End Zone facility will require relocating the Roy B. Shaver baseball field to the athletic complex near Neosho Junior High School.
The operating levy proposal will generate more than $22 million for the district and will result in a tax increase of less than $75 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2.
"We urge every registered voter to cast his or her ballot on June 2, and to carefully consider the advantages the school district's proposal gives to our students, their families, the teachers and staff, and our communities," Cummins said.
Community on 05/21/2020