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District sets pre-election meetings

By Joshua Roberts - | Dec 31, 2002

School district officials and campaign volunteers want to make one last push between now and Election Day for a proposed bond issue in the Basehor-Linwood school district.

“The final push will be when everyone comes back from the holidays,” said Cal Cormack, Basehor-Linwood school district superintendent.

¢ Basehor-Linwood school district patrons will be asked in a special election on Jan. 21 to approve a $29.9 million bond issue to pay for construction of a new middle school, as well as renovation to Basehor, Linwood and Glenwood Ridge elementary school.

  • The district will hold two informational town hall meetings, one at 7 p.m. Monday at Basehor-Linwood High School and the other at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 at Basehor-Linwood Middle School.
  • A presentation and a discussion will take place during the meetings.

On Jan. 21, voters will decide whether to approve the $29.9 million bond issue, which would finance construction of a new Basehor-Linwood Middle School, as well as renovation to Basehor, Linwood and Glenwood Ridge elementary schools.

The election could cost the Basehor-Linwood school district as much as $5,600, according to Leavenworth County Clerk Linda Scheer. She based her estimate on bills the county has received for publication costs, supplies and ballot printing, as well as estimates for election worker salaries and other costs.

“I would say possibly $5,600, and that may be a little bit high, but that should cover it,” Scheer said.

Before heading to the polls, campaign volunteers and school district officials want to make sure the public has the correct information concerning the bond issue, so they have scheduled two meetings before the vote.

“The purpose of the meeting is to present information which will allow voters to make an informed decision on January 21,” said Roxann Storms, a member of the campaign speakers bureau.

The need for the town hall meetings stems partially from rumors that have surfaced concerning the bond issue, school officials and campaign volunteers said.

One of those rumors is that an approved bond issue would shut down the elementary school in Linwood.

Not true, Cormack said.

“The bond issue is committing another $3.5 million into Linwood,” he said. “The board of education has said we want elementary buildings located within the areas they serve.

“We will always need an elementary building in that end of the district. We have no interest of ever closing that school.”

Another rumor is that the bond issue does not directly address problems at the elementary school level.

Again, not true, school officials said.

“The truth is we are addressing the elementary issue at all three sites,” Cormack said, citing that the bond issue would add four additional classrooms at Basehor Elementary School, eight at Glenwood Ridge Elementary School and free up what is presently the middle school building for Linwood Elementary School.

In addition, an approved bond issue would allow new grade configurations — sixth, seventh and eighth grades — at the new middle school, which would be built along County Road 2.

And a final source of speculation for some residents has been the January date chosen for the election, which some argue might keep older residents from voting.

“We’re not sophisticated enough to know whether that would be to our advantage or not,” Cormack said.