With the failure of its previous bond initiative in March, USD 417 Morris County is getting ready to sit down with members of the community to try and draft a new, more agreeable option for voters, possibly by next year.
KVOE recently welcomed USD 417 Morris Superintendent Tyson Esslinger on its Newsmaker 2 segment to discuss these efforts and also gauge his thoughts on why the previous effort did not succeed. For Esslinger, he believes two big factors saw voters check no on the prior $31.5 million bond for facility updates at all district schools: preservation and taxes.
Esslinger also claimed there was a large amount of “misinformation” presented in opposition to the bond, which ultimately contributed to its failure.
Noting the need for updated classrooms and facilities in the district, Esslinger says USD 417 is planning to move forward with another bond initiative and has already taken steps to try and gauge where they could be more successful in resonating with voters. This includes a post-bond survey which was sent out earlier this year, the results of which came back to the district board last month, as well as a public meeting held June 4th.
Esslinger says the survey only received around 300 responses, with the meeting having 40 attendees after more than 1,700 people voted in the March election. Moving forward, Esslinger says the district has already set a series of public round table discussions on the matter to gather more information and input from residents as they look to create a new bond issue, possibly for next year.
Esslinger stated that the district has not begun drafting a new bond proposal just yet, noting the upcoming round tables will play a large role in that process.
According to Esslinger, four meetings have been scheduled for mid-August and early September, with the first two meetings taking place at 5:30 pm and 7 pm on August 27th in Council Grove and the others occurring at 5:30 and 7 pm inside Prairie Heights Elementary School in Alta Vista. For more information, visit the district’s website, USD417.org, or call 620-767-5192.
