SACs support placement of school bond issue on ballot
By Lisa Crockett
The School Accountability Committees (SAC) at Rock Canyon High School and Rocky Heights Middle School, along with SACs at several other secondary schools throughout the Douglas County School District (DCSD) are endorsing the placement of a bond issue on the fall ballot aimed at providing money to area schools to be used for school safety and building maintenance needs.
The SACs, which are comprised of elected parents and community members, have presented a prepared statement to the Board of Education, stating, “As SACs, whose responsibility it is to review our schools’ annual budgets, we understand that the urgency of funding is critical. There are capital needs that, if not met immediately, could threaten the physical safety or interrupt the education of children in our community. Furthermore, the school district currently has no dedicated funding to rectify this crisis, and has been unable to address the increasing capital needs within the past five years.”
The timing of the proposed bond would allow the district to raise funds without raising taxes, due to current bonds that are expiring.
“The timing on this is essential,” said Meg Masten, the SAC Chairperson at Rock Canyon High School. “As a SAC, we looked at the possibility of increased class sizes, staff cuts, and scheduling changes which would adversely affect students.”
The school district has not yet decided whether or not it will call for a bond issue on the fall ballot.
“In July of last year we asked the Long Range Planning Committee to educate the community about what DCSD needs, and approaches to address those needs,” said DCSD School Board President Kevin Larsen. “That’s one step of the process and we have lots of things to consider before we decide what to do next.”
As of press time, 15 secondary school SACs and 6 elementary school SACs had signed in support of the position statement.
For more information about long range planning in DCSD, visit www.dcsdk12.org/long-range-planning-committee.
