Post Messenger Recorder -

To Belleville School District Residents,

On November 8th you will go to the polls to vote for not only a new President but to determine the future of the School District of Belleville. You will be asked to vote yes or no on a $20.75 million referendum. The referendum, if approved, will provide much needed delayed maintenance, safety and security improvements, improvements in learning environments, a larger and better Intermediate cafeteria, a larger Intermediate library and additional classrooms, most of which will be at the Intermediate Building. I urge you to vote YES on the referendum for the following reasons.

I have no doubt in my mind the plan before you is the best one for the School District of Belleville. It will modernize the present Intermediate Building, add necessary space for future growth, make improvements at the middle/high school building and improve safety in both buildings.

For approximately two years, the Belleville Schools Facility Committee worked to develop this plan. As a member of this committee I would like to explain the process. In Phase I the committee consisted of residents from the school district, along with representatives of all the staff. During this phase we looked at all of the buildings to determine what needed to be fixed and how to make them more energy efficient. At the same time, teaching and administrative staff gave suggestions as to what they felt would be the ideal learning environments to meet current educational needs. The consultants took everything we discussed and came up with possible scenarios and estimated associated costs.

Then we began Phase II of the process. In this Phase, district consultants looked at everything in greater depth and gave the committee possible solutions with an estimated cost for each. The first meeting looked at eight alternatives with costs as high as $54 million for a new building for Early Childhood through 6th grade. After a great deal of discussion at several meetings over a few months, the committee narrowed the options down to a more workable cost. Working with the consultants we refined our plan until we ended up with what you will have before you when you vote on November 8.

Approximately $10.8 million of the money proposed in the referendum will provide necessary capital maintenance and renovations to make our buildings more energy efficient, safe and structurally conducive to learning. When one drives by our school buildings they look to be in good condition because our staff has done a very good job working with the funds available to them. But because of the restrictions our state government has placed on school finances, much needed updates to things like heating systems, energy efficiency and electrical needs have had to be delayed.

Today’s education requires an educational environment that is much different than when I began teaching and even different than what it was when I retired 15 years ago. Teaching techniques, advances in technology and state and federal mandates have driven education to move from the rectangular classroom with desks in rows to more flexible and versatile environments.

From personal experience I know the importance of a classroom that meets the needs of the curriculum. When I began teaching science, my classroom was the standard classroom of the time. It did not provide much flexibility, let alone a laboratory for hands-on activities. I eventually found a science curriculum that provided a lot more hands-on activities and projects but making the program succeed as it should was difficult. In fact there were some activities that could not be done because of the limitations of the classroom. I did manage to work in some laboratory time by sharing the high school science labs, but it was awkward because that science complex was not conducive to having a high school class and my class in there at the same time. When the new high school was built, two of the then “middle school” classrooms were converted to a combination 7th and 8th grade science classroom and lab. This new teaching environment allowed the 7th and 8th grade science program to flourish.

It is imperative this referendum pass. It will enable the School District of Belleville to provide the standard of education that our students need to be successful in today’s world.

I urge you to vote YES November 8.

Terry Kringle,

teacher in Belleville for 31 years, retired