Fairfield school district voters asked to OK $34 million bond for new middle school

Voters in the Fairfield Community School District will have the final say Tuesday on a plan to build a new middle school.

The district is asking voters to approve a $34 million general obligation bond to build a new middle school, add air conditioning to the Fairfield High School gymnasium and relocate the tennis courts south of the middle school that would be displaced by the new building.

The new middle school building would be built just south of the existing building on Fillmore Avenue.

If approved, the district expects construction on the middle school to start next summer and finish in time for the 2024-25 school year.

Once completed, the new building would house fourth- through eighth-grade students, with fourth- and fifth-graders in a separate part of the building from sixth through eighth grade.

Each of the two “neighborhoods” would have its own dedicated entrances.

The building would be designed to accommodate future expansion to include kindergarten through third grade.

The new bond would raise the school district’s property tax levy from $11.82 per $1,000 of assessed value to $13.33.

The school district has a website (bondissue.org/Fairfield) containing information about the bond vote, why it’s asking for the bond, and a calculator to see how it will affect the district’s taxpayers.

Property owners can plug in the value of their home or agricultural land to see how their tax bill would change if the bond passes.

The “Frequently Asked Questions” section on the site states that cost difference between renovating the current middle school and building a new one was relatively minor.

It notes that the district paid off its last bond 11 years early, saving the district’s taxpayers $1.5 million in interest.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Polling places are the Jefferson County Courthouse, Libertyville Community Center, Lockridge School Gym and Pleasant Plain Community Center.