Yes to the Bond
Provisions for Extra-Curriculars, Additional Classrooms, Updated Grounds Make Passing the Bond a Must
One of the major issues that has plagued athletes in our school is limited practice space. Teams have had to compete to use the gym. The dance team had to practice in the hallways before school this year. On top of this, some of Conestoga’s sports have been forced to use Nehawka’s facilities to hold practices or practice early in the morning in our gym. The school district no longer owns the Nehawka building, but has been able to reach an agreement with the current property owner to use the space.
The addition of a second gymnasium would remedy this problem by adding more practice space for teams to divvy up. The new gym would also come with greater seating capacity, holding 1,030 people according to the preliminary plan on the district’s facilities information website. This would allow Conestoga to host some conference and district events that we would not be able to with our current seating for 750.
“It’s not a hard rule, but gyms that have less than 1000 available seats rarely
get selected to host district events. For wrestling in particular, gyms need to hold 3 mats to host large events. Our current gym only fits 2, so this will allow us to be considered to host a district event if the bond passes,” said Sean Trampe who coaches cross country, track and wrestling.
The bond also provides for much needed additional classrooms at both the high school and the elementary school. Grade sizes are getting larger, especially with the expansion of Omaha. Some grades have already had to increase the number of classrooms they use, which comes at the expense of other programs. These larger grades will soon move to the High School, which will also need to accommodate them.
Larger classes are proven to be a less beneficial environment for students. This means that having space and teachers to accommodate more rooms is more important than ever when we are on the brink of overcrowding. Restricting the number of out-of-district students only goes so far to solving the issue, but these new classrooms will nip it in the bud.
Additionally, the fine arts get to share some of the love. Renovations will be made to the stage, and a new art room will be put in.
On top of this, the bond also provides for reconstruction and renovation of the grounds at both schools. This has to do mainly with parking availability. Most importantly, our parking lots are not in compliance with certain updated ADA codes. This needs to be fixed and will be solved according to the plan for updating the grounds using money from the bond.
Any worries about tax increases are also a limited cause for concern in many cases. The tax calculator on the district’s facilities information page can show the impact of the bond passing on an individual’s taxes when a house valuation is input. The increase would amount to four cents a month per $1,000 in assessed value on a property.
The bond has so much good that it can contribute to our school. With only a slight increase in taxes, and higher district spending being any sort of drawback, there isn’t much of a comparable downside to the great help it provides our students. This is why we, The Prowl staff, endorse this bond. It is important that Conestoga’s students have access to classrooms that aren’t overcrowded, proper facilities for their sports and activities, and space for people to park for their performances and games. This isn’t only preferable, it is necessary.
John is a Sophomore at Conestoga High School. He participates in numerous fine arts and academic extracurriculars such as band, one act, speech, and FBLA....
Not Dave • Apr 21, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Using the same old excuse while saying someone else is using the same old excuse is puzzling to me. Surely any adult who knows about the proposed bond recognizes only 20% of the project has anything to do with the gym. It seems obvious that everyone understands the gym has so many valuable uses that far out weigh the minor consideration of hosting a district event such as music concerts, dances, PE, large testing, banquets, plays, etc. The taxes are less or comparable to what everyone has been paying for the past 30 years.
The kid who wrote the article simply got a quote from a teacher to include in the article. The quote is clearly only one small part of the big picture of the article. The kid who wrote the article clearly took his time to research and write the article. The kid that wrote the article should be considered an expert on this topic because not only is it clear he’s put in the time and effort to actually read all the information available, but he also goes to the school so he is seeing and living what the school needs right now and in the future. The kid that wrote the article says the school needs the bond, and we should believe him.
It’s clear some people are not going to support the bond under any circumstances, but let’s not pretend a high school student’s article is what brought anyone to that conclusion. All the planning and decisions have been a long and public process. Any person in the district had the opportunity to ask for information and answers in all portions of the project designs, including a gym.
Posting a random comment on a message board is not helpful to anyone and serves only as bullying and trolling a kid’s work. Skip the excuses and support the kids by supporting the bond.
Dave • Apr 21, 2021 at 8:03 am
The same old excuse, if we had a better gym we could hold districts. The revenue generated from holding districts never paid for any school addition. You also are misrepresenting the facts about building cost to tax payers. This 4 cents per month per thousand in evaluation is in addition to the amount of the bonds that are set to be paid off. I don’t think having to share gym space is a 30 million dollar inconvenience. Also why haven’t the parking lots been maintained by the school board? Seems that this bond issue is about want, not need.m