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Fremont Public Schools
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From The Superintendent
Superintendent
Dr. Steve Sexton
The Rest of the Story
Februaury 2010
What's this I hear about Build America Bonds and a School for Grades Five and Six?
The new school to contain grades five and six will be financed through an option provided by the federal government as part of the economic stimulus package. The construction of a 5-6 school center estimated at approximately 101,000 square feet, will use this funding source that was not available 18 months ago. This source of funds will no longer be available in less than a year from now in December of 2010. It is anticipated that the approximately $15.2 million dollar bond issuance, including $13.1 million construction requirement for the school, will be completed through this source of funds. Build America Bonds allow districts to levy up to 5.2 cents to pay for construction. Fremont Public Schools use 4.7 cents presently included in the total district levy, to cover this project. This is a one-time opportunity that is here right now and will allow the taxpayers to recover approximately $6,000,000 they would otherwise have paid in interest. It will rebate 35% of interest charges. Build America Bonds do not require a vote of the public.
The levy of 2.3 cents for the General Obligation Bonds on which there will be a vote, and the 4.7 cents for the Build America Bonds on which there will be no vote, equals a total of 7 cents for debt service to pay for all bonds. The seven cents required is already included in the total district levy so no increase is projected. The increase in the overall levy is expected to be zero, based on current district valuation, estimated construction costs and projected future economic conditions. We presently levy 7 cents that will be assigned to debt service to pay for the bonds, so again there is no projected levy increase.
The five-six center will provide for future growth at the elementary and middle school levels. The school will result in approximately 15 spaces becoming available at the elementary school level to accommodate growth, and a similar number of spaces becoming available at the middle school level. These goals are achievable, they are right here, they are right now, and this is the right time to accomplish what must be done. These needs will not go away.
The New Year
August 2009
We wish to extend to you a most sincere welcome to Fremont and to Fremont Public Schools and to what we anticipate will be a great school year! If you are new to Fremont and/or Fremont Public Schools we are delighted to have you as a new resident of our city and school district. We encourage you to visit our website at www.fpsweb.org where you will find all manner of information concerning the schools; menus, calendars, Parent Connect, personnel and contact information. We are extremely proud of our community, of our children and their parents, and of our faculty, support personnel and schools.
The community of Fremont continues to move forward with important advances on all levels, which can be seen by the additions to businesses, parks and recreation, the YMCA and others. The positive momentum is also true for Fremont Public Schools with continuous review and upgrades to curriculum, improvement in programs, program quality and experiences available for children and youth. These strides do not happen without dedication and community support as well as local and state financial assistance.
Fremont Public Schools carries accreditation with the Nebraska State Department of Education as well as certification of regional quality. For example, in April 2007 our school system became the first and only public school system in the state to receive "District Accreditation" which is the highest level granted by the North Central Association on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI). With that recognition, Fremont joined a small handful of other districts in the North Central region encompassing 19 states, in meeting those rigorous requirements.
Our district, which covers more than 60 square miles in area, includes a total of approximately 4603 students; 1,326 of which are in the high school; 970 are in the middle school; and 2095 attend elementary grades kindergarten through five. There are 105 children enrolled in our pre-kindergarten special needs program, 57 students are enrolled in the alternative high school, and 50 receive special education services through the Pathfinder Program located at the Main Street Education and Administration Center.
Beginning with the 2005-06 school year, full-day kindergarten sessions were implemented in all seven in-town elementary schools. This change was made possible by restructuring use of state funding sources and the additional classroom space that was added for that purpose as a result of the passage of the building renovation and construction bond issue passed by residents in 2000.
All schools with the exception of one, operate on the traditional August through May calendar. Grant Elementary School, the single exception, has completed its seventh year under a continuous learning calendar, and has done so with marked and continued success. Grant's program begins in July and runs most of the calendar year with the exception that all classes and activities are dismissed during the month of June. During the coming school year, a similar calendar will be developed at Washington Elementary School and implemented in 2010.
Please feel free to contact any of the district offices if you have questions concerning a specific area.
| Office of the Superintendent | 727-3007 |
| Executive Director of Human Resources and Administrative Operations | 727-3008 |
| Executive Director of Business and Support Services | 727-3011 |
| Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment | 727-3130 |
| Executive Director of Student Services and Special Education | 727-3024 |
Meeting the Challenges of the Future
May 2008
With the decision of the Board of Education on April 21 to provide to voters a plan for meeting the present and future needs to perhaps as far as 2015, it is expected that there will be questions regarding how and why the plan has been developed. It is also important to clarify some misinformation and misconceptions regarding the building projects that were approved in 2000, the financial status of the district and what is planned for the 2009 initiative. What follows are the facts. The proposed project is about children growing and developing, it is about how they learn, it is about teachers, it is about teaching and most of all it is about children learning. It looks at present needs while preparing for the future out as far as seven years.
What renovations, additions, and construction are planned?
The project would:
Take down the old two-story section at Linden and replace it with single-level structure of approximately 15,000 square feet and replace the boiler. The plan retains the existing single story structure and additions to Linden approved in 2000. The proposal will add to the existing single-story sections of the school.
Add 7,500 square feet of space to Clarmar, remodel space for student services, upgrade the media center, replace the boiler unit and improve the front entry area.
Improve the front entry areas of Grant, Howard and Washington schools.
Build a new facility of approximately 98,000 square feet for grades 5 and 6.
Add approximately 11 classrooms and a commons area to the high totaling approximately 23,000 square feet.
Remodel the Family and Consumer Science classrooms/lab.
Cost a total between $22 and 24 million to complete.
Not raise the tax levy in the debt service fund.
Position the district for approximately 2010 to possibly 2015.
Solve growth and crowding issues that are becoming steadily apparent.
Require fewer boundary adjustments than other possible solutions.
Attend to and recognize age-group student needs more effectively and efficiently.
Solve the cost-prohibitive issue of adding space to all schools and building a new one as well.
What other information about the proposal is important to know?
The proposed project is intended to address future needs and can be accomplished without increasing the tax levy in the bond fund and without extending the life of the existing bonds.
Other districts have followed this approach to building construction and renovation and it has worked well for them in looking to the future. Those districts include Papillion Public Schools, Bellevue Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, Lincoln Public Schools, Waverly Public Schools, Gretna Public Schools, and Elkhorn Public Schools. These districts are all recognized as progressive, effective and efficient. Fremont Public Schools can solve many future needs this way as well. It is a proven successful process.
Vehicle access is being reviewed and will involve other organizations in addition to Fremont Public Schools in seeking the best solution.
The relocation of grades five from the elementary schools will produce approximately 16 classrooms across the district to accommodate additional students.
By moving sixth grade out of the middle school approximately 16 spaces for additional students would be made available.
Suggestions have been made that building an elementary school will not solve the problems. The fact is it only considers a single dimension of the issue and does not address all levels. A single elementary school does not address the growth that will occur at the Middle School or the High School as children move through the system. The proposed plan addresses needs at all levels.
Similar size districts that have built 5/6 schools report the plan provides a situation that respects the childhood of children of the fifth-sixth grade age while providing rich experiences in a setting where there is great flexibility and promotes common age-group qualities as well.
How does Fremont Public Schools compare to other districts in Nebraska in terms of expenditures and finances available?
When lids on both expenditures and revenues were placed in force in 1996, this district was spending $440 less per pupil than the average for the state. Fremont Public Schools now spends $985 per pupil less than the average in the state. What this means is that for a comparable system based on the per pupil costs, Fremont Public Schools should be spending approximately $4.5 million more than is presently being spent just to make "average."
Fremont schools now operates on a per-pupil cost of $7,524.14. The average state per-pupil cost is $8,509.86. Our per-pupil cost is $985.72 below the state average. With approximately 4,600 students, Fremont would have to spend an additional $4,534,312 dollars to just hit the average.
Fremont is far from a wealthy district. This has required that operations be fiscally responsible and sound and they have been. There are any number of area districts that have greater wealth, with ability based on property valuation available per-pupil, when compared to Fremont. This information is often surprising.
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Assessed Value (Wealth) Per Pupil
- Dodge-------------------$10,188.38
- North Bend---------------$9,941.31
- Scribner-Snyder---------$7,341.69
- Logan View--------------$6,615.57
- Fremont------------------$4,048.20
Fremont is and has been fiscally efficient. The actual cost per pupil for neighboring districts is interesting:
- Dodge -----------------$11,201.28
- North Bend ------------$ 9,566.38
- Logan View ------------$ 9,455.36
- Westside ---------------$ 8,665.68
- Omaha -----------------$ 8,466.73
- Scribner-Snyder -------$ 8,348.30
- Lincoln ------------------$ 8,044.63
- Blair----------------------$ 7,794.93
- Elkhorn ------------------$ 7,697.57
- Fremont -------------$ 7,524.14
- Millard -------------------$ 7,475.75
Fremont Public Schools was the first and is the only district in Nebraska to hold North Central district accreditation which recognizes quality, efficiency and effectiveness. If all districts were qualified and attended to all the required areas of operations necessary to receive the recognition, they would have it.
Fremont will have to face the issues addressed by this proposal sometime. There just will not be a better time to accomplish these projects because costs will continue to rise. Fremont can do it now or do it later for greater cost and less quality.
Fremont school district covers approximately 67 square miles in parts of three counties (Dodge, Douglas and Saunders) and includes land along Highway 275 to Highway 36 and nearly to the Elkhorn River.
There are 47 more children attending the elementary schools today than were attending a year ago. This represents two classrooms of students that were not here last year. This is even with the loss of a few students to the kindergarten and first grades at St. Patrick's Catholic School.
Legislation was considered in Lincoln this year that would set a maximum of 20 students per classroom for grades kindergarten through three. The district would be required to reach that standard in order to receive the full share of state financial aid. It would not be surprising to see that legislation return and pass in future years, if not next year. If it does, Fremont could not meet the requirement because there just is not enough space to do so.
There are 356 districts in Nebraska and Fremont ranks 10th in student enrollment. There are no comparably sized districts with 5/6 enrollment plans simply because there just are not that many districts of size in Nebraska. There are 27 districts most of similar size to Fremont in Missouri that have 5/6 grade schools and they are productive, effective and efficient.
Why weren't these steps in preparing for future needs taken with the bond issue was proposed and passed in 2000?
To have taken the entire package of needs to voters in 2000 would have required a bond issue nearly double the size of the one passed and that was not seen as fiscally responsible or considering the needs of taxpayers. Needs in a district that is poised for development will never be finished. It is an ongoing requirement demanding attention to the future.
The projects developed by the bond issue in 2000, which constituted Phase I, were all completed on time, within budget and for less cost than similar projects. At the same time of this project, Lincoln Nebraska completed two high schools at a cost of $50 million each for a total of $100 million.
In 1999 and 2000 it was stated that Phase I would address the needs that existed at that time and it did so. Further growth and improvement would be left to other future projects or phases of planning.
The proposed projects for consideration in 2009 represent Phase II of the overall plan which began in the 1990's.
The bond issue in 2000 was for $29.9 million and the tax levy estimated for the projects was 21 cents. At no time has the bond levy exceeded that figure. At no time will the levy exceed 21 cents with the proposed plan.
Because of favorable investment of bond funds, the district was able to complete $32.7 million in construction, renovations and improvements. This was indicative of good business sense, care in planning and accurate estimates of growth and impact.
The district built a new middle school, new elementary school, added a science wing and other classrooms and renovated areas at the high school, renovated the media center and added climate control at Clarmar, added classrooms, climate control and renovated areas at Grant, Howard, Linden, and Washington Elementary Schools for just over half (60%) of what it cost in Lincoln, $50 million, to build one high school.
To have built a high school where the new middle school is located under the 2000 project, remodel the old middle school appropriately and complete the remainder of the work that was accomplished would have resulted in a bond issue nearly twice as much as the one passed. That would not have been a responsible use of tax dollars.
The 2000 bond issue was designed to face the issues that existed then and to address modest growth and do so with fiscal constraint. It did just that. Future growth could not have been accommodated in that bond issue without doubling the amount requested.
The Fremont Middle School cost $12 million when it was built. To build the exact same structure today would cost an estimated $19.5 million . It was a prudent investment.
We hope the information provided in this article addresses your questions regarding the proposed bond initiative planned a year from now, reviews important information regarding the fiscal condition of the district and comparisons with others and once again highlights the accomplishments and purpose of the 2000 bond issue and projects. Requesting voters to consider a major investment in the future at any time is a difficult task. However, thoughtful investment in education and the community through planning properly for the future of children and youth is the best means of assuring the existence of a sound and well-rounded environment for all.