Dongola School District 66 plans to have bond issue on March primary ballot
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<p class="p1">The Dongola School District No. 66 Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday evening, Feb. 11, to present bond referendum questions that will be on the March primary election ballot. </p><p class="p1">The Dongola High School roof is leaking and is in need of a new one. </p><p class="p1">District 66 superintendent Dr. Paige Maginel explained to about 20 people who attended the meeting that the district has no debt, but the bank account and reserves are low. Enrollment is declining, so they aren’t receiving as much state aid as they used to. </p><p class="p1">“I don’t believe we can reduce anymore,” Maginel said.</p><p class="p1">The first question on the March ballot follows:</p><p class="p1">“Shall the Board of Education of Dongola Community Unit School District Number 66, Union, Pulaski, Alexander Counties, Illinois, alter, repair and equip the existing school buildings of the District, and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $400,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”</p><p class="p1">This statement is basically asking if the district can have the funds to replace the roof.</p><p class="p1">The second question on the March ballot follows:</p><p class="p1">“Shall the Board of Education of Dongola Community Unit School District Number 66, Union, Pulaski, Alexander Counties, Illinois, be authorized to issue $400,000 bonds for working cash fund as provided by Article 20 of the School Code?”</p><p class="p1">This statement is basically asking if the district can use this money for other maintenance towards the school, such as fixing the parking lot, hold staff, etc. as examples.</p><p class="p1">The school board is only allowed to present facts to the public and cannot advocate for passing the bonds. </p><p class="p1">According to a bond information sheet passed out at the meeting, the board stated: “We paid our last bond debt in December 2015. We are currently debt free but need to extend our debt to maintain our facility and personnel while we are balancing our budget. By doing a ten year bond, taxes will remain steady with what they currently are, and will decrease again after ten years and we can avoid a permanent tax increase, and avoiding tax increases is the goal of our board and administration.” </p><p class="p1">Also on this information sheet, it gave three reasons for presenting this information to the public.</p><p class="p1">1. “Our roof must be repaired in order to continue operation.”</p><p class="p1">2. “We have been forced to take interfund loans (decrease our account balances because the State has held money it owes the District.)”</p><p class="p1">3. “We have been forced to decrease our faculty and staff. Specifically, we have reduced by two elementary education teachers, two title one teachers, one special education teacher and a part time physical education teacher. We have also reduced one and one half aide positions. The District has no guidance counselor. To provide quality services to our children, we have to have the faculty to do it.”</p><p class="p1">The board provided the audience with a detailed map of the school showing where exactly the roof was leaking.</p><p class="p1">The roof is mostly flat where it is leaking. The board wishes to remove the flat roof, add three inches of insulation, removed skylights, go down to the decking to make sure it is still structurally sound and add a pitched roof.</p><p class="p1">During this presentation, a drop of water fell in front of Maginel. The meeting was held in the old gymnasium at the school. </p><p class="p1">Over 20 gallons of tar have been used to temporarily patch the roof.</p><p class="p1">Many teachers and community members had an opportunity to speak to the board about the vote.</p><p class="p1">Multiple people voiced their support for the bonds and asked the public to vote yes. </p><p class="p1">Many of those who spoke praised Dongola as being a great school and community and felt the school deserved a new roof.</p><p class="p1">“We are going to make the best decisions we can, the most conservatively we can,” Maginel said.</p><p class="p1">There was also a suggestion from the audience that a permanent tax increase would help the school district more so than another bond. </p><p class="p1">One woman stood up and said, “I appreciate you not raising my taxes and I support you.”</p><p class="p2"> </p>