While community members are excited to see the district take steps to improve schools with its Nov. 2 bond issue, it does not come without concern. Some DeWitt citizens want to know exactly how much and where the money will be spent.
“I think it’s critical to the community to know that we’re going to commit and support $66 million to the school district and that we know it’s going to be spent in appropriate political way to specific items,” Scot Ellsworth said at the Oct. 11 school board meeting. “What is it really allocated towards? How can the community ensure it’s actually gonna be spent on those items?”
The proposal does not have specific itemized earmarks, but it breaks down how the money will be spent in the three main areas. Most of the money, 86%, is allocated to aged building systems while 7% each is allocated to educational technology and improving athletics, arts and extracurriculars. Within those categories are specific items such as parking lot improvements, new computers, new turf field at the stadium, new playground equipment, and numerous others.
“To a lot of people, it seems like a lot of money,” DeWitt Superintendent Dr. Shanna Spickard said. “It is a lot of money, but if you look at different bonds that are around the area, many of them are double what we’re asking for.”
Citizens want quicker communication
In addition to wanting more clarity on the bond, a strong demand for more easily accessible information on the macro level from the school board was requested by multiple people at the school board meeting. Regardless of viewpoint on face mask mandates in the school, which was the main talking point during public commentary, there was consensus on the need for better communication between the school board and its constituents.
As it stands, notes are taken during meetings, but are not approved until the next school board meeting. Minutes may be posted only after the approval from the board.
“Like right now, if I go through the website, I don’t see the September minutes, I only see the August minutes,” Jordan Burnie told the school board. “It takes a long time for a parent to get what actually went down in a meeting disseminated, and I refuse to see what’s going on on the DeWitt community Facebook page, because that’s not where the information is. It should come from you guys.”
Burnie suggested that meetings either be live streamed or at least recorded and posted to YouTube for parents who could not attend a meeting to watch.
“I can’t find any schedule anywhere on any calendar for any information except some notes about a meeting that was held in March,” Will Thompson said. “I think March or April were the last meeting minutes. There is no schedule.”