The Lindbergh Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution calling for a $150 million no-tax-rate-increase bond issue to appear on the April 2, 2024, ballot for the Lindbergh School District at its Dec. 19 meeting.
The measure, called Proposition R, expands on the work of 2019’s $105 million bond measure, also called Prop R.
Because it is a no-tax-rate-increase measure, the district’s current debt service tax rate of $0.8330 per $100 of assessed valuation of real and personal property would remain unchanged.
“If your home’s appraised value goes up, let’s say $50,000, then you will pay more taxes, but you don’t increase your taxes because of that rate, so the rate stays the same,” Superintendent Tony Lake explained to the board at the meeting.
If passed by voters, this bond will help the district complete a variety of projects.
“When I was hired, there was a discussion of facilities, a kind of 10-year kind of conversation around ‘we got to do this first and then we got to do the next thing.’ We’re kind of at that ‘next thing,’” Lake said.
Crestwood, Kennerly and Long elementary schools currently do not have separate gyms and cafeterias, rather rooms used for both purposes dubbed “cafe-naziums.” Prop R would create separate, standalone gyms – serving also as storm shelters – at the three schools, similar to what Concord, Dressel and Sappington elementary schools already have. Truman Middle School would also be able to address the variety of infrastructure repairs and replacements needed, including new roofs and new air conditioning units.
Another focus of Prop R is improving the unsafe traffic flow and parking seen on several campuses in the district, as well as improving the general security and safety districtwide.
Lastly, the district wants to construct a one-of-a-kind K-12 agricultural STEM learning center.
Per a press release, the district is already working with leaders in the agricultural tech and agricultural science industry who are “excited to partner with (the district) and create real-world learning opportunities for all Lindbergh students.”