Grove Public Schools Asks Voters To Approve $87M Bond Issue

Grove Public Schools is asking voters to approve an $87 million bond issue in the April election. It would fund three major projects.

Grove Public Schools superintendent, Pat Dodson, said that the district needs more space for students. The school district is currently at about 86% capacity, and the high school, in particular, is at about 95% capacity.

The school bond proposes to build a new high school just north of where the current high school sits. The new high school would house grades 10 through 12, while the old high school would move grades seven and eight up with the freshmen.

The bond would also fund a new gym and practice facilities, and it would add parking spaces for the performing arts center.

Dodson said that the funds would address overcrowding issues not just at the high school but also at the elementary level to accommodate a fast-growing district and hopefully keep students in Grove.

"We don’t want our kids to go to other schools because Jay to the south of us, they recently invested in their school and Miami to the north has invested in theirs with the passing of bonds. So we want to do what we can to keep our kids in Grove and also have a space for the growth that we are experiencing in Grand Lake," Dodson said.

Dodson also said that if the bond passes there would be a slight increase in taxes in order to fund the bond.

"The increase is going to be $71 per thousand that you pay in taxes. So we’re looking basically at, depending on what the value of your home is, this is the increase, and for the investment in our kids, we feel like that’s the best we can do because we need to do this now," Dodson said.

If the bond passes, Dodson said that the new high school could be completed within 18 to 24 months and give the current sophomore class a chance to graduate from the new facility.