A group that advocated in support of the 2019 school bond issue for Springfield Public Schools has been reconstituted to urge voters to support the upcoming April 4 bond vote.
The group, Friends of SPS, describes itself as “a wide-ranging coalition of parents, educators and civic leaders who support the mission of Springfield Public Schools” in a news release. Its co-chairs include Alina Lehnert, former SPS board president, and her husband Darren Lehnert, as well as Marshall and Winter Kinne. The group’s treasurer is Tom Prater, a former school board member.
Marshall Kinne and Prater have twice been members of a citizen task force commissioned by SPS leaders to examine whether or not voters should be asked to prioritize projects that would be tied to bond measures. Voters will be asked on April 4 whether or not they support extending the district’s current 73-cent tax levy that will allow the district to issue $220 million in bonds. The money would fund the following projects:
- Constructing a new Pipkin Middle School and a new Reed Middle School
- Renovating and rebuilding Pershing School, currently a K-8 school
- Constructing and installing storm shelters at six elementary schools and safety and security upgrades at all school facilities
Friends of SPS supports the no-tax increase Proposition S, as the bond vote is called. The group supported the initial 2019 proposition, and voters did too. About 60 percent of district voters said yes on S, a $168 million bond measure.
The money funded an early childhood center next to Carver Middle School, new Delaware and Boyd Elementary schools, renovations at Sunshine and Williams Elementary and the construction of a new Jarrett Middle School. The bond also allotted nearly $8 million to install secured entrances at 31 schools. Enough of those projects came in under budget that it freed up funds to address some, but not all, of the projects the initial task force had outlined for a second phase, including renovations to Hillcrest High School, a new York Elementary and two elementary storm shelter gymnasiums.
Alina Lehnert said in a phone interview that the first phase of bond-funded improvements changed experiences for students and their families across the district. The rebuilt, ADA-compliant Boyd Elementary, for instance, allows a grandparent in a wheelchair to visit the school, and a student who breaks his foot to not have to transfer to a different one.
Lehnert said her two terms on the school board provided her reason and opportunity to visit many of the district’s schools. Its oldest buildings, she said, often appear beautiful on the outside but are not functional for educators and students on the inside. And some of the schools targeted in the second phase of bond projects are a century old.
“When we shared the needs to our community, they responded,” Lehnert said of voters in 2019. “And I believe the same will be true this time.”
Along with improving functionality at the schools targeted for replacement or renovation in this second round of bond projects, Friends of SPS will tout the safety measures that will be addressed across all school buildings, Lehnert said. The group has conducted an internal poll of likely voters, and Lehnert said it revealed that safety and security issues are key motivating factors for district voters. Along with the safety efforts, Lehnert said another top factor is that Proposition S extends, but does not raise, the district’s current tax levy.
Prater added in the release that the group is looking to rally the broader community “to make the next phase of the plan a reality for our children across the district.” Winter Kinne added that, as an SPS parent, she is appreciative that the safety measures will improve all schools across the district. About $7 million of the bond money is dedicated to installing door access sensors, roof access sensors, upgraded security cameras and alarms and protective glass film on all ground-level windows at schools across Missouri’s largest school district.
“We know there’s strong support for additional safety and security improvements,” she said in the release.
For more information about the group’s #YESonS campaign, visit www.friendsofsps.org or email info@friendsofsps.org.
