Springfield Public Schools offers tours of schools listed on “Prop S” for April ballot

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Springfield Public Schools leaders gave community members a tour of repairs and upgrades at Reed Middle School on Thursday. The district offers tours of schools slated for improvements if voters approve a $220 million bond issue next month.

Reed Academy’s principal highlighted major issues with accessibility, space, and more.

“We are desperately in need of a new building to better serve our students,” said Sara Strohm, Reed Academy Principal. “The class sizes and the bodies of middle schoolers 100 years ago are not the same as they are today.”

It’s one of the many schools the SPS task force put on the list to be fixed. A series of school tours will allow parents and community members to see firsthand why the Community Task Force on Facilities prioritized certain schools for improvements.

The proposed improvements include upgrades at all schools, constructing a new Pipkin Middle School and a new Reed Academy, renovating Pershing School, and constructing storm shelter gymnasiums at six elementary schools.

“We wanted to see what the facility looks like in order to determine whether or not we should support the bond issue,” said Pam and David Buhr, Greene County Voters. ”There’s a lot of very small rooms and congestion, and it seems like it’d be very difficult to be a teacher in those conditions,” said David Buhr.

We spoke with voters today who were against the issue but did not wish to go on camera.

”I would imagine knowing some of the people that are in our neighborhood association, the older people would be very concerned as to whether or not this is going to affect their taxes,” said David Buhr. “They worry it’ll affect their income because a lot of them are on limited income once they’re retired.”

Tours have been scheduled for Reed, Pershing, and Pipkin schools.

Below are the dates and locations of the scheduled events:

Thursday, March 2

• Reed Academy, 2000 N. Lyon Ave.: Tour at 5:30 p.m. followed by presentation at 6 p.m.

Monday, March 6

• Pipkin Middle School, 1215 N. Boonville Ave.: Tour at 5:30 p.m. followed by presentation at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, March 7

• Pershing School, 2120 S. Ventura Ave.: Tour at 5:30 p.m. followed by presentation at 6 p.m.

District leaders say all schools under construction will be finished by the end of spring break.

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