Vicksburg Community Schools is appealing to its voters for help in deciding the fate of a bond proposal coming up next month.
Board of Education members earlier this school year approved placing a $64.1 million bond proposal before voters in the May 5 election.
If approved, the request won’t raise current tax levels, Superintendent Keevin O’Neill and board members have pointed out, since previous bond issues are being paid off.
The district has identified a number of key areas where the funds would benefit its students, its staff and its community.
“Our schools are at the heart of this community and every improvement we make is really an investment in our students’ futures,” O’Neill said. “This proposal is about creating safer buildings, modern learning environments and opportunities that help every child discover their potential.”
He cited a list of improvements the funding would allow the district to make. Safety-related enhancements would include:
- Controlled entry points into school buildings.
- Main office renovations.
- Replacement of fire alarms.
O’Neill said the funds would also allow the district to replace outdated and inefficient infrastructure, including:
- Bus replacement and technology upgrades.
- Replacement of the district’s transportation facility.
- Piping replacement inside school buildings.
- Boiler replacement and mechanical systems upgrades where necessary.
- Locker and casework replacements.
The third of three target areas centers on enhancing student learning and programs. O’Neill said funds would be aimed at athletics, arts, academics and outdoor education. Specifically:
- Classroom technology upgrades.
- A new outdoor-education center.
- Construction of an auxiliary gymnasium.
- Science-lab improvements.
- New classroom furniture.
- Upgrades to the high school’s performing arts center.
- Playground improvements.
“I’m incredibly proud of how our community has supported our schools over the years, and this proposal continues that tradition of thoughtfully improving our facilities while maintaining the current tax rate,” O’Neill said.
Assistant Superintendent Steve Goss said by aligning the proposal with the district’s current debt structure, Vicksburg Community Schools will be able to address critical needs across the district without a projected increase to the current tax rate.
“This bond proposal reflects careful financial planning and a long-term commitment to maintaining our district’s facilities responsibly,” Goss said. “Our goal is to ensure that the investments we make today protect our facilities, support student learning and remain fiscally responsible for our community.”
Board President David Schriemer said the board supported the request because it represents a balanced and thoughtful plan for the district’s future.
“The projects included focus on safety, learning environments, and maintaining facilities that serve students and the community,” Schriemer said. “Ultimately, the decision rests with our voters, and we encourage everyone to learn more about the proposal and participate in the May 5 election.”
The second of two community forums centering on the impending bond proposal takes place 6 to 8 p.m. April 16 in the high school library.
Goss said the district’s 2025 tax rate was 6.6 mills, $6.60 per $1,000 taxable valuation.
He said the district issued bonds from the voter-approved 2014 request in three series every other year starting in 2014. The same three-step measure is being taken with the request voters endorsed in 2020.
“If you go back to when we issued bonds in 2014, we started a process where we wanted to design the repayment schedule so we retired bonds a little bit earlier and not have them outstanding quite as long, and we wanted to look at roughly a six-year interval,” he said.
“So, the bonds we issued in 2014 are fully repaid, the 2016 bonds have one more installment that’ll be paid this year and the 2018 bonds have two installments remaining.”
Goss said as those bonds fall off the books, the repayment schedule on the new bonds is designed to maintain approximately the same pace.
“So, we’re just deliberately structuring the repayment terms to create those opportunities,” Goss added. “We know that we’ll always have to be repairing roofs, parking lots and HVAC systems, but we’re trying to do it in a way that provides some predictability and stability with that funding.”
