CRESTWOOD, Mo. — A roof was held up by two makeshift pillars and students had to learn through the sound of a loud A/C unit at Truman Middle School on Thursday.
These are a couple of examples of why Dr. Mike Straatmann, staff, and students at the middle school are eager to see Prop R on the ballot next week.
Prop R is a $150 million, no-tax-rate increase on the April 2 ballot that will support building equity across elementary schools, much-needed middle school renovations, safety upgrades districtwide and a PK-12 agricultural STEM learning center on the Concord Farmers Club site.
The district would take out a bond, or a loan, and repay it over time using revenues from local property taxes.
"Really just trying to make sure we're prepared to teach kids every day and we want them to be comfortable coming to school," Straatmann said.
The funds would help the school convert from window to central air conditioning units inside the classrooms and in areas that house extracurricular activities.
"In the warm months, fall and later spring it gets extremely warm in both of these gyms. We're talking 80 degrees in here. No air movement."
The funds would also be used to create more collaborative spaces for students in between classrooms on each floor.
Straatmann walked through a room used by the district for dining storage that the school would gut out for students, eliminating outside access to the building and safety concerns.
"When we have multiple access points, it does create issues for knowing who's in the building," the principal added.
Another big vision for the dollars is to turn an empty and unused pool into a multi-purpose space for the school community.
"It'll have arms and have backs on the chairs. You can do concerts in here. You can do class meetings in here. So it'll be basically a flexible space," Tony Lake, superintendent.
School leaders stressed that the goal is to shape the facilities for now and into the future.
"Think about what they might need 75 years from now and when you think about that, it's really about creating flexible spaces," said Tony Lake, superintendent for Lindbergh Schools.
The passing of Prop R would allow the district to design an agricultural STEM learning center on the Concord Farmers Club site where PK-12 students could get real-world learning experiences and connect them with industry leaders. The superintendent said his office had already been in contact with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center about opportunities.
Other school districts with bond issues on the April 2 ballot include University City, Riverview Gardens, Orchard Farm and Valley Park.