December 24, 2024

School board chooses Thomas Jefferson, Emerson Hough in tight 4-3 vote

Estimated $21.3M configuration makes one building preK-1, the other grades 2-4

Newton Superintendent Tom Messinger speaks with school board member Mark Thayer during the Oct. 23 meeting at the E.J.H. Beard Administration Center.

Newton school board members have finally made their decision on configuration in a tight 4-3 vote. Thomas Jefferson Elementary will be remodeled into a PreK-1 building while Emerson Hough Elementary will be remodeled into a grades 2-4 building, which in the end will cost approximately $21.3 million.

Which means Aurora Heights Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Elementary will eventually be closed down and sold. The decision comes after more than a year of master planning discussions facilitated by the Newton Community School District’s architectural firm and a committee of community members.

Coupled with two town halls, public comments at board meetings and numerous workshops, school board members have spent considerable time taking in as much information from administrators, architects and Cardinal families. At their recent meeting, board members went through numerous failed motions.

Interestingly, the motion that passed had initially failed and was the first to be brought up. With only Travis Padget and Ray Whipple voting in favor of it, the motion died. But after others failed to pass differing motions, the original was reconsidered and supported by Padget, Whipple, Donna Cook and Josh Cantu.

School board members Robyn Friedman, Liz Hammerly and Mark Thayer voted against the motion, which needed a minimum of four votes to pass.

Costs have always remained a big issue with configuration. Cantu argued he would support any option that allows the district to stay with revenue bonds, saying the board cannot wait for a general obligation bond to have a positive outcome one year from now to make progress.

“If we can do it without our ability to use revenue bonds, I will support it,” Cantu said after the third motion failed. “…I just wanted to make sure we have the least expensive options, and it’s OK that it didn’t pass. We need to make sure we’re passing something that’s fits within revenue bonds.”

Although the school board’s decision is one of the most cost-effective options, it is not the absolute cheapest option. Aurora Heights as the preK-1 center and Emerson Hough as the grades 2-4 center would have cost about $20.3 million, so approximately $1 million cheaper than Thomas Jefferson as the preK-1 center.

The inclusion of Thomas Jefferson Elementary many be the direct result of many west side families speaking out against the lack of a west side option.

Christopher Braunschweig

Christopher Braunschweig

Christopher Braunschweig has a strong passion for community journalism and covers city council, school board, politics and general news in Newton, Iowa and Jasper County.