Feature Photo By: Samir Mohammad– A bird’s eye view of Rangeview is taken by a drone. With the bond being approved, there will be additions to the school building.
Following Tuesday’s election, Rangeview is set to obtain classroom additions, online school remodeling and a renewal in instructional technology equipment tallying up to $4.4 million.
The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education placed a new $300 million bond (Measure 3c) for the November 2016 ballot which was approved overwhelmingly by APS voters as of November 8th.
The bond program will fund facility, security, and technology improvements in every school in the district and will be strictly used for capital construction and technology improvements only.
This approval would not have been accomplished if it weren’t for the APS Long Range Facilities Advisory Committee, city officials, APS staff, and other community members conducting a three-year study to evaluate school building and technology needs at every school in the district, said APS Superintendent Rico Munn in a statement.
The findings concluded that the schools in the district were eroding at a quicker rate which leads
schools to necessitate critical repairs. Particularly with student enrollment increasing, students became in need of more adequate technology equipment, room capacity, and a suitable building to be taught in.
Now a tax revenue of $1.93 per month ($23 annually) will be set per $100,000 of property value on APS homeowners and the money will develop beneficial changes for every student in the district.
Sophomore Megan Marshall said, “I feel pretty strong about that because I come to school to learn, and I especially like that it’s going towards education and not the staff salaries and stuff.”
However, now with the ballot being approved, Rangeview isn’t merely gaining benefits from the bond, as it’ll lose a tremendous one on behalf of Mrachek Middle School being rebuilt entirely as early as this year. The middle school is estimated to spend up to $24 million in expenses and its new building is projected to sit where hundreds of RHS students currently practice sports and marching band.
“Mrachek does need a new school but this is our school too and everyone has their own sports,” Marshall said.
The only inconvenience with this is that Mrachek will be rebuilt at the lacrosse and baseball fields across Evans Street and Telluride.
According to Randy Mills, a STEM teacher at Rangeview and freshman coach, marching band, lower level baseball, boys and girls lacrosse teams, and freshman football will all be losing their fields. Mills agrees that it may help Mrachek along with many other schools in the district, but it will significantly impact the activities and athletics program at Rangeview.
“My auntie graduated from here [RHS] in 1996 and the building has remained the same except for the new wing; I think it’ll really help us”, said freshman Alex Garcia. “I know a lot of people who are on the teams and who can’t play in that field anymore but if it’s going to a school that needs help that bond should be resolved that way.”
Ultimately, the APS bond program was placed to make a difference at every school by helping increase academic achievement and opportunities for every student at every school in the district.
For more information about the $300 million bond click on these interactive maps:
