Schools
Vote on Johnston Schools' $41 Million Bond Issue Friday at Library
Residents in the Johnston school district can vote on the bond referendum Friday, June 14, at the Johnston Public Library. The district says about 850 absentee ballots have been cast so far.
If you're in the neighborhood of Johnston Green Days festivities Friday at the public library, you can vote on the $41 million Johnston School bond referendum, says the school district website.
Most voters in the Johnston school district will go to the polls June 25 to decide the fate of a bond referendum that would build a new high school and remodel other buildings,
According to the Johnston school district website, voters in any school district precinct can vote Friday, June 14, at the Johnston Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Road, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Voters can also fill out and mail in an absentee ballot request (found here) to receive their ballot in the mail. It is then filled out and sent back in to the Polk County Auditor’s Office no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, June 24 View a sample ballot.
Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Early voting was held last week at Horizon Elementary School, which drew in more than 500 votes, said district communications director Laura Dillavou. That brought the total number of absentee ballots - which includes the ballots cast at Horizon - to about 850. By comparison, the district had 94 absentee ballots in the September election.
School district residents who choose to vote on June 25 will go to the polls between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Click here to view a list of polling places by precinct.
Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
This is the second attempt to win voter approval for the referendum, which will include constructing a new high school and renovating other buildings. The school board cut the price tag by $10 million from last year's failed bond issue and further refined the needs versus wants for the district, according to the district website.
Meanwhile, school board member John Dutcher wrote in an opinion piece, "Though I do support construction of a new high school, I am not in support of the $112 million district facilities plan as presented, nor the amount of the bond referendum," ... "In my review of the data, no support can be found for adding any additional elementary classroom capacity to our district’s facilities in the near future."
Supporters are using internet sites to spread the word. There is a Bond 2013 site set up with numbers, architect drawings and more. A recent feature on the site is more than two dozen YouTube videos that feature former U.S. Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling, Beaver Creek Elementary Principal Eric Toot, school district executive director of financial services Jan Miller-Hook, Johnston parent Courtney Chabot Dreyer and others making the case for passage.
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Topics of the short videos include:
- How are portable classrooms current affecting students?
- If the bond decreased, why are estimated taxes unchanged?
- How are high school environments changing?
- How is overcrowding affecting Beaver Creek staff?
- Why I love Johnston as a place to work and learn.
The revised facilities plan includes:
- New 10-12 high school north of 62nd Avenue and west of 100th Street ‐ $81 million – completed in 2016
- Renovation to existing high school to house 8th and 9th grade students ‐ $4 million – completed in 2016
- Renovation of the existing middle school on 62nd Avenue to house elementary students by moving Wallace Elementary to that building, along with district preschool. ‐ $16 million ‐ completed in 2017
- Furniture Fixtures and Equipment ‐ $6 million
- Renovation of the existing Wallace Elementary to meet district needs ‐ $5 million ‐ completed in 2018
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