- May 2024, a $92 MIL bond was struck down by the community.
- Now, the school has taken the details back to the drawing board to assess the needs and wants of the community.
- Watch the video to see the superintendent's response to bond proposal 2025.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
While many neighbors have their eyes locked on a vote in November, the St. Johns School District is preparing for another in May. I'm your St. Johns neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg, showing you how a bond proposal is making its way back into the community.
"You know we lost in May by 109 votes, but now we've regathered ourselves, we've listened, and we're getting more community involvement," said Superintendent, Dr. Anthony Berthiaume.
Last May, St. Johns voted down a $92 million bond. Wednesday night, the school held its first meeting to hear feedback and start from scratch.
"There is no price amount right now currently because we want to start with that zero-based budgeting and build our way up to what are our necessary needs for our district and our students," said Berthiaume.
One major priority is the elementary buildings.
"From infant to preschool, how do we get these students ready for kindergarten?" said Berthiaume.
Berthiaume told me this area is key for student development throughout St. Johns.
"We need to start making sure that students have structure, routine, and socialization," said Berthiaume.
As topics like this are sorted by priority, I was also told taxes wouldn't increase, making the bond more specific to community needs and easier on the wallet.
"It's all kind of like checks and balances into what can we do to make sure this proposal gets passed, and that our community can support when that gets passed," said Berthiaume.
PAST ST. JOHNS BOND PROPOSAL COVERAGE:
You can view updated information about the bond here.
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