Growing enrollment calls for an expansion in the Kings local school district.  The district has proposed a 4.69 mil bond, which, if approved by voters on November 5th, will grant the school $89.975 million for the project. That means an extra $180 on annual taxes for a family living in a $100,000 home, which is roughly $15 a month. 

The planning committee made up of board members and principals worked with architects and researchers to create a new facility plan that will upgrade several schools in the district. Their plans include building a brand new middle school for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, and adding classrooms to J.F. Burns Elementary School, Columbia Intermediate school, and Kings High School. 

“There is no space left in our buildings,” said Tim Ackermann.

 Voters are in the process of making their decision about how to vote for the measure. The renovations seem expensive to some members of the community.

“I would vote no because not everyone can afford it, and coming from a low income family, I know my parents wouldn’t be able to afford the tax increase,” said senior Kristina Dyer.

 Carrie Snyder, English teacher and member of the planning committee, views the cost differently. 

“It’s $15 a month, per $100,000 of house value,” said Snyder. “It’s the cost of a pizza per month for the most important thing that we do for kids. To me that’s a worthwhile sacrifice.”

The staff of the planning committee is confident that this money is being used responsibly, and that the plan of action will work for the long term. Superintendent Ackermann assures that careful consideration went into making the plan through conducting community outreach programs. According to Ackerman, the plan is the best it could be based on community opinion. 

 “The community really developed this plan,” said Ackermann. 

Large scale renovations to the high school  include 24 new high school classrooms, a brand new gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria additions. 

The renovations solve problems like overflow parking leaking into neighborhoods, teachers without classrooms, and capacity issues in the gymnasium and auditorium. These rooms cannot accomodate large audiences, so school meetings must be broken up into smaller groups by class, and pep rallies no longer take place during school hours. Basketball games are overcrowded, and sometimes uncomfortable. 

“We bring the whole community here,” said Alex Garvin, guidance counselor.

The most dramatic renovation to the Kings Highschool campus regards the Junior High. The planning committee has decided that the best  route is to demolish and pave over the building, creating parking spaces to accommodate more students. This would mean locating a state of the art middle school directly west of the football stadium where the current baseball stadium is located. New baseball fields will be built behind the new middle school. The building will be 3 stories high, with plenty of growing room for increasing enrollment, while still making room on campus for other necessities. 

During planning meetings, community members questioned why the district is creating a new middle school instead of a new high school. 

“You can’t expand it [Junior High] to accommodate more students,” said Garvin.