LELAND — Leland residents have had some questions concerning the Leland School District’s requested $8.75 million bond issue.
At Thursday’s bond issue meeting at the W.E. Bufkin Auditorium at Leland High School, LSD Superintendent Jessie King and Gary Bailey, president of Bailey Architect of Ridgeland, spoke to the attending city residents of Leland about issues in the district and the upcoming bond election scheduled for Sept. 10.
The district’s current facilities and restrooms are the same from when King said he was in elementary school.
The high school currently has a boiler leak, leaking roofs, unsafe wall sockets, peeling walls from rain coming through the roofs and severe heating and cooling system issues, King said.
“We had Wendell Thomas, maintenance director for the district, to dig in the floor not because we wanted to see but because the floor started to leak not one time, but numerous times. It would leak in the girls’ restrooms and in the classrooms because the heating from when we were in school, which came from the floor, it also came from a boiler that as the water got hot in the boiler, the rooms got heated through the floor. It has been evident and it has been verified that the boiling systems are dangerous because it builds up pressure,” King said.
Whenever a power outage occurs in the winter, King said the boiler is trying to accumulate pressure without power and the pressure in the pipes could burst.
Due to the heating and cooling system issues, sometimes students have been moved from one room to another room to either keep them cool or warm. Pails were placed in the hallways to catch rain water and students were directed to walk around them to avoid slipping.
“The storm that occurred in May, the schools were without power and it lasted for about two weeks. We were testing at the time and we had to put kids on buses and take them to another school and take babies from over here to over there and then ask them to be at their best thinking. That was a lot to ask of the babies,” King said.
Bailey said the reason why the district has a bond issue because the district can’t fund the improvements with their regular funds.
“The law allows you to have bond referendum to improve facilities. You can’t spend bond money on teachers or books, but you can only spend it on improving facilities you say you’re going to do. That’s what has been published in the referendum. That’s what the referendum will say, we’re improving schools,” Bailey said, noting the bond requires 60% of the people who vote to approve it.
Although the school repairs were originally looking to cost $30 million, Bailey said the max amount a district can receive with a bond issue is $8.75 million.
“That is a bold move for this board to say that this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to go after the most we can get legally and do the most with it in an efficient and careful manner and get your money’s worth,” Bailey said. “The board set items that are priority in their eyes.”
The elementary and high schools are getting most of the work done because the district deemed them to be in the worst shape. Almost every building is getting re-roofed and some of it is being done without the bond issue.
The bond issue would only fund some of the roofs where the canopies are in the backside of the campuses because insurance wouldn’t cover those.
Insurance is covering new roofs on the elementary, high school and the gym at the middle school.
“It’s not a part of the bond issue and the district worked hard to get that money. It didn’t just come easily, we had to fight with the insurance company to help and it doesn’t cost the district or community a thing,” Bailey said.
The heating and cooling systems are beyond repair at the high school and it is by far the worst, Bailey said.
The district is planning to replace the heating and cooling systems at the elementary school and in the hallways at the middle school.
The toilets are another big issue at the elementary school, Bailey said, noting the work would involve gutting them down to the ground, and replacing every fixture, floor and wall.
The stadium has also been in deep conversation, Bailey said.
“It is unsafe and it is a part of the public perception of the city. Every human being that goes down that highway sees your stadium. They have an opinion, whether it’s positive or negative,” Bailey said.
The district is committing $2 million of bond money to fix the stadium, which would include new concessions, toilets, lights, bleachers and a field house.
Plans also include putting secured entries at every building at the high school. After school starts each day, the doors will be locked and secured and a person will have to be let in by an administrator.
“We have to give your kids a safe place to get their education and having secured entries will do just that,” Bailey said.
Community questions
One local resident asked, “Since taxpayers are the guarantee for this bond, what role do we play in choosing these bids?”
“People of this community need to be involved in the school district,” Bailey said. “I encourage you to come to board meetings so you can hear for yourself what’s going on and you can ask questions. This board works endless hours and they don’t make a lot of money. It is a labor of love. Everything that we do, as far as this process is public. … We want you to be involved and have an input. You just have to be active with the district and the schools.”
Another local resident asked, “How can we be sure that this money is used the correct way?”
“This is taxpayers’ money being used and there are laws that deal with that. I take this very seriously. When the board sets a priority of what they’re going to do, it is my job to follow the law, to make sure nobody is being privileged and make sure it is being publicly bid like the law said it should be done. I also have to make sure that the work is being done correctly,” Bailey said. “That is what you pay me to do and that is my job and I take it very serious. It has to be an element of trust somewhere. Until the bids come in, the board does not know every dollar and they are basing it upon estimates.”
