PAC strives to give patrons 'clear facts' on referendum

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Sure, Dave Helman wants the Mt. Pleasant Community School District?s $16.9 million bond referendum on Sept. 9 to pass.

Helman, however, is passionate about two other matters related to the bond vote.

First, he wants to educate the patrons on the subject of the vote and secondly, he does not want the referendum?s focus to become on Mt. Pleasant School Superintendent Dr. Mike Wells, who has had a turbulent first year in the district.

?Our students did not create this conflict (between school admin-istration and staff and the administration and select district patrons),? Helman said. ?It is our job to make sure that our students get the best schools possible. It is not right to penalize kids because adults can?t resolve conflicts?If this fails, kids will get penalized because adults can?t resolve conflicts.?

The primary reason, though, Helman ? along with Chuck Albright and Mary Beth Young ? formed ?Our Kids ? Our Future? was to educate patrons on all aspects of the upcoming referendum. ?Our Kids ? Our Future? is registered with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board as a political action committee.

Helman of rural Salem is a retired federal prison warden, Albright, Mt. Pleasant, recently retired from retail farm services and served as a vocational agriculture instructor at Southeastern Community College. Young, also of Mt. Pleasant, spent 22 years as a teacher at the Iowa School for the Blind.

?We?re concerned that a lot of people are not getting clear facts on the referendum,? Helman said in listing another reason for the launching of the PAC. ?We (Helman, Albright and Young) are all retired and we wanted to give voters a clear perspective on the referendum.?

Broken down, all but $2 million dollars in the referendum would be spent on renovations and additions at the four elementary schools. The remaining $2 million would be for technology upgrades districtwide.

Following are the proposed expenditures at each of the elementary centers: Salem, $3,761,897; Harlan, $2,538,297; Lincoln, $4,654,929; Van Allen, $3,693,524.

Technology projects include ILC classrooms and implementing the 1:1 initiative (computers for students).

?Our Kids ? Our Future? has developed eight fact reports which it will distribute at meetings in which its representatives are invited to speak and at a kickoff meeting Wednesday (Aug. 13) at 7 p.m. in the community room of the civic center. The fact reports also will be on the school district?s website.

The fact reports provide details on what is in the referendum and what is not; why the referendum is necessary; the impact on property taxes and history of property taxes in the district; history of student test scores; polling places and times; how a bond referendum works; if passed when the referendum becomes effective and who goes first; and what other school districts around Iowa and the country are doing to solve their facilities problems.

Helman said it is ?very clear? that passage of the referendum would lead to a positive impact on the district. ?With the kinds of things proposed, student achievement would rise, student misbehavior would decrease and teacher morale would improve.?

Funds from the referendum would provide for safe drop-off and pick-up zones at each elementary school, something Helman said is very important. ?The safety issue is huge. We do not have safe entrances now to the schools.?

Asked if it is financially responsible to pour millions of dollars into aging buildings, Helman pointed to other school districts rehabilitating older buildings and also noting that patrons feel neighborhood schools are important.

?These schools have been wonderful for 50 years and we would like to see them serve our students for another 50 years,? Helman said. ?All the buildings are in good neighborhoods and they are structurally sound, according to the architects. A lot of school districts are taking older buildings and renovating them. People here want neighborhood schools instead of one large (elementary) school.?

The Sept. 9 vote also includes air conditioning all elementary school buildings, new full-size gymnasiums at Salem and Lincoln schools and additional space at most elementary attendance centers.

?A lot of work has been put into this by a lot of people who know a lot about this,? Helman said. ?If you are going to do this, do it right. The board did the right thi8ng by paring down the original project list (which included $37 million in repairs, additions, new construction, etc.). They have wisely said these are the most urgent projects.?

So what drives Helman? He said he feels it is a sense of duty.

?I have enjoyed a great career, I could retire earlier than most people and I enjoy public policy,? he explained ?Wherever I would be living, I would feel a need to be involved. I feel it is my duty as a citizen. I just have a passion for public service.?

He also has a passion for education, having seen his wife, Cathy, spend her career as a teacher. ?There are so many children who are at-risk and have special needs. We need to put these resources into these schools. If we can invest $16.9 million, it will have a direct impact on lives.?