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By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
reporter@arkcity.net

Ballots on the $35.8 million local school bond issue should arrive in Arkansas City area residents' mailboxes within the next few days.

The ballots were taken to the post office Thursday morning, said Cowley County Clerk and Elections Officer Karen Brooks.

Voters have until noon March 4 to get the ballots back to the county clerk's office in Winfield. "So if they mail it on March 4, it won't count," Brooks said.

At issue for voters in the Arkansas City Public School District (USD 470) is the funding of proposed improvements to all schools in the district.

Meanwhile, a citizens committee promoting a "yes" vote on the issue continues to offer informational meetings on what the bond issue would fund.

Next week's informational meetings include one at 6:30 p.m. Monday, at Frances Willard Elementary School and another at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, at the Senior Citizens Center.

John Sturd is the chairman of the citizen committee for the school bond issue, and has made presentations on the issue at various venues throughout the community.

"We've tried to do as good a job as we can to get information out there," he said.

"The biggest issue for most people who've attended the talks has been cost. 'What's it going to cost me?'" Sturd said.

The cost would vary depending on the appraised value of a resident's home, he said. For the owner of a $54,100 home -- the average home value for residents in USD 470 -- the cost would be $35.29 per year, he said.

That taxpayer cost would take into account state aid of 50 percent for the total project construction costs and interest on the bonds, Sturd said.

Talks presented by citizen committee members mostly have been effective, Sturd said. Some people indicated they had been against the bond issue when they came to a talk but left supporting it.

"We've changed some minds," he said.

The proposed improvements that would be funded by the bonds include upgrades in all schools of heating and air-conditioning and electrical power systems, plumbing and restrooms, windows and doors, roofs and insulation.

The renovations also would include new school entrances for security, storm protection, expansions of each elementary school to provide early childhood education rooms, improved parking and bus loading areas, and upgrades in technology.

Citizens committee member Jay Warren said at a recent meeting at IXL Elementary School that the plan "brings us into the 21st Century" and "is for the kids."

Critics of the plan say local taxes are too high already and continue to increase almost annually. They also question whether some projects in the plan are needed right away.

One point of controversy is a new football stadium that would be built adjacent to Arkansas City High School. It would replace historic Curry Field in the downtown area.

Total cost of the new stadium, parking area, seating, lighting, concessions and rest rooms would be about $5.3 million.

Ark City school board members have said that the proposed new football field would cost less than an estimated $6.3 million to renovate Curry Field and bring it up to current standards for school sports facilities.

A few years ago, USD 470 held brief talks with Cowley College about the possibility of a shared football facility at a site near the Cowley track on South Summit. But those talks broke down quickly, although officials at the college said last summer they were still open to talking about a shared facility.

When the option of a shared facility was brought up again last summer in a Traveler story, school board members said a facility at the south end of town would present an inconvenience. Students, coaches and staff would have to commute from the high school on the north end of town. The district would have to pay extra transportation costs and be concerned with safety issues.

At a meeting last August, the board abandoned consideration of a shared facility -- at least for the time being. At that meeting, the board voted to approve authorizing and providing for the bond election.

Originally, the bond-issue vote had been planned for Nov. 6. But later it was rescheduled to allow more time for an informational campaign conducted by the citizen committee.

The school facilities plan also would include the building of 10 new tennis courts -- four with lights -- next to the new football field on the high school campus, at an estimated cost of $550,000. In addition, it would include expanding and upgrading a softball field complex south of the high school that is adjacent to an existing baseball field. The new softball complex would have four fields and would cost $1,562,000.

USD 470 officials have stressed that sports facilities represent only a fraction of the overall bond issue. The master planning process for the overall plan started in August 2006 when a community steering committee of 30 citizens started looking into needed improvements in four areas.

In addition to athletics, those areas included existing buildings, early childhood and technology.

The steering committee presented its final report to the school board in April 2007.

Among all schools, the high school would have the highest price tag for improvements, $8.8 million.

Planned renovations for the high school are as follow: enlarge commons-cafeteria area and add connecting link to tech building, remodel and expand industrial-technical building and include district-wide print center, create new main south entry, add new fire alarm, replace auxiliary gym lighting, replace main and auxiliary gym bleachers, add vocal and instrumental music practice rooms and storage for music and art supplies, upgrade acoustics, relocate service drive north of industrial arts building, replace elevator.

Cost of improvements for the middle school would be about $4 million. They would include providing handicapped access to band, vocal and stage areas, upgrading handicapped access in auditorium, adding new lighting in gym and lobby, adding public restrooms to lobby, creating new entry and secure entrance lobby, adding strings (music) classroom.

The most extensive renovation among the elementary schools would occur at IXL Elementary.

IXL's east-west wing facing the street would be demolished to provide an expanded and safer parking area for the school. The old wing would be replaced with a new 28,000-square foot building including three new early childhood classrooms.

Cost Breakdown:
* Expand/Renovate ACHS
$ 8,805,000
* Renovate ACMS
$ 4,023,000
* Expand/Renovate Adams
$ 2,809,230
* Expand/Renovate C-4
$ 1,152,600
* Ex/Ren Frances Willard
$ 1,545,000
* Replace Portion of IXL
$ 5,023,000
* Expand/Renovate Jefferson
$ 2,019,000
* Expand/Renovate Roosevelt
$ 834,960
* New stadium
$ 5,335,000
* ACHS Tennis Courts
$ 550,000
* ACHS Softball Fields $1,562,000
* ACHS Auditorium Seating
$ 78,000
* ACHS Parking Lot
$ 300,000
* Technology
$1,800,000
TOTAL: $35,836,790
(Cost information from Arkansas City Public Schools brochure)

Above: A view of the proposed athletic field, track and stadium that would be built adjacent to the high school if the school bond issue passes.