On Tuesday, May 5, RCS is slated to attempt to pass a bond that will help improve the quality of our schools for years to come. The bond, which has been a controversial topic within the city, is set to be funded by keeping the taxes Roseville citizens have been paying at the same rate that was originally set by the last bond in 2018. The last bond, which was passed eight years ago, enabled many crucial updates to schooling and helped maintain the upkeep of the buildings, some of which are now over fifty years old. The bond also provided many needed security updates to help keep students safe.
The new bond comes with the task of right-sizing the district, according to superintendent Mark Blaszkowski. “This zero-mill increase bond proposal will upgrade our vital infrastructure, security, and technology, while right sizing our district to become more efficient and prepared for the future,” he said.
Right now, the district is experiencing an underutilization of facilities, with many classrooms throughout the district sitting empty. For example, there is a whole wing of Roseville Middle School sitting vacant among many other classrooms throughout. There are simply not enough children coming through the district to be able to maintain all of the buildings. The last time the district faced this much of a decline, the two high schools ended up consolidating into one. Back when that happened, the district had nearly 4,000 high schoolers alone. It now has just over 4,000 students throughout the entire district. Particularly, the elementary schools are facing smaller class sizes without as much funding as is needed to be able to adequately teach the students. This is where the solution of closing schools is proposed. If the bond is passed, there are a total of five schools on the docket to be removed, one of which will be converted into an early childhood education center. The removal of these schools will be inevitable with or without the bond passing. Eastland will be demolished, and the two middle schools will be consolidated. The four elementary schools set to close, Patton, Kaiser, Fountain, and Dort, will allow for class sizes to become correct again, giving the children a much better chance at a higher quality of education. There will be a new elementary school built on the plot of land where Eastland will have stood.
There is so much more to the bond other than the closing of schools; it will give band students access to better quality instruments, ensure that all classrooms throughout the district have both heating and cooling, and give a much-needed update to the auditorium at RMS, which is home to almost all band and choir concerts throughout the district among other events such as musicals and award ceremonies. It will also allow for updates to bussing boundaries for all schools, allowing all middle schoolers who live farther than a mile away to have access to the bussing system. Basic infrastructure updates will come as well, ensuring that everything is up to date and within the state code throughout the district.
Ultimately, the fate of the bond is left up to the voters of Roseville. If you are over the age of 18, a citizen of Roseville, and registered to vote, please get out there and vote on the bond.
