Winfield-Mt. Union asks voters to approve $3.2 million bond

The Winfield-Mt. Union school district is asking the district’s voters to approve a $3.2 million bond for three projects.

Winfield-Mt. Union Superintendent Jeff Maeder explained that the district is looking to build a new gym and expand both the industrial technology center and the weight room.

“It is to build a gym facility with some community use possibilities as well,” Maeder said. “We need more gym space for our school and for our students.”

He said that the school has been using the current gym as a cafeteria.

“We did that this past year to spread the kids out more due to COVID,” he said. “We found that it worked really well, but the fact remains that we feel like that gym space is too small to host school competitions.

“For that reason, and because there’s always a need for gym space and gym use here in Winfield, we feel that it’s important that we have this extra space.”

The 14,300-square-foot facility would be a free-standing building, constructed across the street from the school.

“We are in the process of acquiring that property,” Maeder said. “That’s not part of the bond referendum.”

The gym will have a regulation-size court and include a stage and seating on one side for approximately 450.

It will have locker rooms, a lobby with meeting space and a kitchen area.

“We can use it as a concession stand, and it would have the capability of hosting meetings for different organizations, family reunions or wedding receptions,” Maeder said.

The school’s industrial technology center is located in a separate building, about a block from the school.

“We need more space to make that a more quality program,” he said. “We are adding onto the current building. It’s 1,080-square-foot addition.”

The third part of the proposed project is a 1,200-square-foot expansion of the school’s current weight room facility, which is part of the school building.

“We feel like we need more space there for safety reasons,” Maeder said. “The room gets crowded at times with all the kids using it. We’d like to spread them out more to improve the safety.”

The bond will require a $1.60 per $1,000 valuation additional debt service levy for residential properties in the district for 20 years. Maeder said that equates to about $82.50 per year for a $100,000 home.

He added that the additional levy would add about $1.49 in taxes for agricultural property in the district.

“If people have questions they can call me at the school, and I’d be happy to answer any questions,” he said.

The special bond election will be on Sept. 14, with early voting beginning on Aug. 25.