Prop S: Safe Schools, Safe Kids
The Mehlville School District Board of Education voted unanimously at its Jan. 21, 2021, meeting to place a zero tax rate increase bond issue measure on the ballot on April 6, 2021. The community voted to approve the bond issue on April 2, 2021.
The bond issue, called Proposition S, is funding projects to improve student safety and accessibility and complete deferred maintenance without increasing the tax rate.
Prop S is funding security entrances at every school; improved accessibility for individuals with disabilities; heating, cooling and ventilation upgrades; restroom renovations and additions; parking lot improvements; roof replacements and other projects.
Prop S generated more than $35 million to complete these projects without raising the current tax rate. Voter approval allowed the district to transfer 12 cents of the existing tax rate to address facility needs at all schools within Mehlville School District at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
What our community has told us
Beginning in January 2019, the Facility Steering Committee began work to identify necessary facilities work at each of our campuses. The committee included community members, and parents and staff representing each of our 19 schools. Together, the committee surveyed parents, students and staff and visited each school to see facility needs firsthand and to prioritize facility projects. The committee also heard reports about the known backlog of maintenance work on school roofs and HVAC systems. Through Facility Steering Committee feedback forms and through surveys related to our strategic plan, safety has emerged as the community’s top priority for its schools. In addition to safety, the Facility Steering Committee also heard that accessibility, restrooms and parking lots were a concern. The projects that are being funded by Prop S represent the most pressing facility needs as identified by the committee.