School funds on ballot

Miami-Yoder School District 60 JT hasn’t had a new school in 47 years.

That nearly half-century in the same building could come to an end if residents next month approve raising taxes for $2 million in bonds to pay for a new school.

A $2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Education would provide the rest of the money needed to build a school on the eastern plains of El Paso County, said Miami-Yoder Superintendent Rick Walter.

Walter said the school would have six classrooms, including a science lab and a gymnasium that could seat 500 people at athletic events and 1,000 people at events such as graduation.

The cost to taxpayers is $6.52 per month per $100,000 of assessed value.

Walter said he plans to ask for more state money to build more classrooms, another cafeteria and additional office space at the school, although no plans are official.

“We’re looking at several phases,” he said.

The school in Miami-Yoder was built in 1960, Walter said. There are also nine classrooms in four portable buildings, ranging in age from 11 to 34 years old.

Walter stopped holding classes in one of the buildings because of safety concerns. The ceiling hangs down and there’s the potential for mold, he said.

A new school would also allow classes to move from the upstairs portion of the current school, where there is a dangerous fire escape and no access for people with disabilities.

If the tax increase passes, the school would be built just north of the current school and likely have students and staff move in about December 2008.

Whether a second gym should be included in the plans might be the biggest question from taxpayers, Walter said.

“We’re constrained a lot by our gym,” he said.

Roughly 350 students in kindergarten through 12th grade share the gymnasium, meaning some elementary classes are averaging 50 minutes per week of physical education, Walter said. Sometimes middle school athletic teams have to practice during the school day, and during basketball season, some teams will have evening practices.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com

MIAMI-YODER SCHOOL DISTRICT 60 JT

2006-07 enrollment: 366

Test scores: Typically below state averages, except for seventh-grade reading, sixth-grade writing and math and 10th-grade science.

Demographics: 21 percent minority students; 53 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

The ballot question: The tax increase would provide half the money needed for phase one of a new school. A Colorado Department of Education grant would provide an additional $2 million. The school, in the first phase, would include a gymnasium and classrooms, including a science lab.

Total cost: $2 million

Cost to taxpayers per month: $6.52 per $100,000 assessed value

How to vote: The Miami-Yoder measure is part of El Paso County’s mailballot election. Ballots were sent out Oct. 12 to most registered voters. Those who registered after Sept. 26 will receive their ballots later. Ballots must be received at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903, by Nov. 6. Call the El Paso County Elections Department at 575-8683 with questions.