Proposition S, which will not raise property taxes for city residents, passed with nearly 87% of the vote on Tuesday.
For Kelvin R. Adams, Superintendent for the Saint Louis Public School District, passage of the bond issue represents a strong message from the St. Louis community.
“The message is that they support public education, and they support the kids in the city of St. Louis,” Adams said.
“They know that the old facilities are in desperate need of repair, and they see that. More important, if the vote is over 83%, it shows that they trust this board and the direction the district is headed.”
Adams spoke with The St. Louis American at the Prop S campaign gathering at Molly’s in Soulard. With his expectations exceeded, Adams said the next step will be implementation.
“We’ll soon announce a timeline for the public as to what they can expect to see. Of course, we | want to be smart about where we put our dollars, but hopefully, by summer of 2023, they’ll actually see work starting,” he said.
Passage of Prop S will allow the school district to borrow $160 million in order to improve schools. Funds will be used to acquire, construct, renovate, repair, improve, furnish and equip school sites, buildings and related facilities.
Funding will be used for facilities work including, but not limited to air quality, lead removal, security improvements, new playgrounds, HVAC, roof repairs and bathroom upgrades.
According to proponents of the bond issue, every one of the more than 60 schools and buildings in SLPS upgrades, improvements, and repairs in some way.
The $160 million bond issue won’t fix every problem existing in old school buildings. School Board President Matt Davis, who has two daughters in the SLPS district, said it will make a huge difference.
“If you took every project needed for every building in the district on a list, we would need about $300 million dollars,” Davis said. “We’re obviously not going to be able to tackle every project on that list but with the $160 million that this bond issue will provide, it’s going to allow us to put a huge dent in so many of those projects.”
The Prop S victory could also be a boon to minority owned companies and crafts workers.
In August 2010, St. Louis voters passed a bond issue also called Proposition S. The $155-million bond measure sailed to acceptance with nearly 75% approval. The district planned to fund 362 various projects, and all were completed under budget.
In addition, the bond issue created 3,000 construction jobs, 39% went to minorities and women. On the 97 contracts, 42% went to minority owned business and 8% were awarded to women owned businesses.