A new central entrance has opened, and a new music wing was completed last fall at Keokuk High School.
Now, the school district wants to know which project parents and local citizens think the district should work on next.
To help determine this, the school board has emailed a survey throughout the community seeking input about five projects.
“We want to know what the community of Keokuk thinks, what they believe should be priority,” said Interim Superintendent Dan Mart.
“As the board finalizes or prioritizes their master facility plan, some of these projects may end up with a bond referendum in order to pay for them. When you add a classroom, that's a big chunk of money. So just prioritizing them that way, and then from there, then you know what you’re looking at, how the district finances it and that the community has helped us prioritize it.”
The projects are:
- New entrances with safety features at the George Washington and Hawthorne Elementary buildings and the Torrence Preschool building
- A renovation to the second floor at the Torrence Preschool building to provide more space for all day preschool
- Additional classrooms and space dedicated for a lunchroom at the Hawthorne Elementary building
- Additional classrooms, space dedicated for a lunchroom, greenspace for recess and new HVAC system at the George Washington Elementary building
- Repairs to the outdoor track, sprinkler system, bleachers, press box, concession stand, and restrooms at Calvert Stadium, the football field at Keokuk High School
“Personally, I don’t have a position nor does the board. They all have ideas, and they all have thoughts.” Mart said about which project should be done next.
“But again, we need to work together as a community to do this. So that’s why the survey was sent out.”
The district has not disclosed cost estimates for these projects.
The online survey will be conducted through April 26.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.