Lack of Transparency
...when it comes to the Student Population at Washington Middle/Junior High School
by Paul Kern , Chair
The school district has stated that it needs a new school to accommodate 1,000 students, as the current school does not have sufficient space for that number.
Well, they are not being very transparent with the numbers.
Washington has had a student population of over 1,000 in several years of its operation as a school, and possibly over 1,100. If you check the historical enrollment figures with the State of Iowa, you find this to be true.
So why, you ask, did they start with the unofficial student enrollment of 604, then revise it to 800 after it was shown that the Vote No group had been aware of at least that amount, implying to taxpayers that the School was too small?
Now, we find out that there have been over 1,000 students who have attended the school. This was well before an addition of 5,500 sq feet was added in 2013 at a cost of $1.5 million.
The District has no desire to tell you it's possible to accommodate the number of students they have targeted without building a new school. The Vote No Committee has proposed remodeling and adding air conditioning to the building. This should be able to be accomplished at a much lower price tag using SAVE funds rather than increasing the Property Tax of Homeowners, Commercial Property (Apartments), and Agriculture (Farms).
1. You should consider this when you go to the polls.
2. There are other options.
3. Vote No on November 4th.