FAQ

Based on the school district’s enrollment trend over the last 10 years, we don’t foresee a growth in our student population.  To the contrary, we expect it to stabilize at around 400 students or to continue to slowly decline.  So, the proposed building plan is not built around the concept of growth.  The plan is designed to increase safety and inclusion and to improve our learning spaces in the career and technical education fields.

The per pupil cost for students at Ravenna Public Schools was $21,981 for the 2022-23 school year. 2022-23 school year data is used because the 2023-24 school district audit has not yet been completed. Any patron of the district can visit “NEP Nebraska” by going to the following website: https://nep.education.ne.gov/. On this website, patrons can easily search for statistical data on any Nebraska school. The per pupil cost is one of the pieces of data that is provided for all public schools in Nebraska on this website.

Some of the other area schools of similar size have better facilities than Ravenna Public Schools and have worse facilities.  It really just depends on the age of the school district’s facilities and how much those districts’ patrons have chosen to invest in their learning spaces.  There are many similar sized schools who have recently or who are currently pursuing a bond issue to improve facilities.  Many schools in Buffalo County are relatively new, compared to the 50+ year old building in Ravenna.  The goal at Ravenna is to update the facilities to meet the modern learning needs of the students in the career and technical fields, improve inclusion of all students, and improve safety.

The Buffalo County Election commissioner responded to this question in writing: “It’s more cost effective to do it by mail because the voter turnout is much higher.  It looks like as of today there are only 1625 eligible registrants between Buffalo & Sherman Co in the Ravenna school district.”

The board is committed to providing the $2 million dollars in cash equity that it currently has in the Special Building Fund towards the cost of the project. This will reduce the amount of the bond. By spending $2,000,000 from the Special Building Fund on the project versus financing this amount as part of a 20 year bond it is estimated to save approximately $1,080,000 in interest for tax payers.

There are no anticipated spending cuts for the General Fund, which is the school district’s fund to provide the educational programming for the district.  The district would continue to offer the same classes it has traditionally.  The proposed building project would not force us to cut the number or types of classes we offer.  If a bond for the building project were to be approved, there would be a significant cut (decrease) in the tax request in the Special Building Fund.  The tax request in this Special Building Fund for the 2024-25 budget cycle is currently $1,137,247.  That tax request could be reduced to as little as $250,000 to $325,000 per year.  There would still need to be money taxed into the Special Building Fund so that the district could keep up with other needed repairs and improvements (HVAC, lighting, carpet, tile, countertops, etc.).  The current tax asking in the QCPUF Fund (which is a fund earmarked for qualified capital projects) for the 2024-25 budget cycle is $243,697.  This entire amount could be cut from the tax asking, if a bond were approved.

No, the plan is not to “spend all the cash” in the General Fund or Special Building Fund.  The Special Building Fund currently has an operational budget of $3 million dollars.  $2 million of that is anticipated for use for the proposed building project.  $1 million dollars of that would be held in reserve in the Special Building Fund for use in case of “emergency situations,” such as a needed roof repair, HVAC failure, etc..  The cash reserve in this fund is kept in case of a situation where we need to repair something that we haven’t budgeted for, an unexpected repair.  The cash reserve balance in this fund has been used for such instances in the past, such as when we have had roof damage not covered by insurance.  The district would continue to tax into the Special Building Fund so that it has money in it for the annual “summer projects” the school district does.  The district’s spending history for the Special Building Fund appears below.  These expenditures have been for items like concrete, windows, roofs, HVAC systems, carpet, tile, lighting, refinishing the track, and other building needs.  So, the $1 million in the Special Building Fund is held in reserve for emergencies and the $250,000 to $325,000 that is taxed into the fund each year will be used to keep up with “regular” building repairs and improvements that typically occur in the summer months.

Special Building Fund Expenditures by Year:

• 2023-24: $366,205 
• 2022-23: $313,709
• 2021-22: $28,421 (*Pandemic)
• 2020-21: $206,326
• 2019-20: $138,198
• 2018-19: $180,458
• 2017-18: $325,806
• 2016-17: $225,421
• 2015-16: $151,741
• 2014-15: $274,483
• 2013-14: $61,150

 An adequate reserve in the General Fund would also be maintained for cash reserve purposes.  The current budgeted cash reserve in the General Fund for the 2024-25 school budget cycle is $1,466,754.  The school district should have little trouble in maintaining this cash reserve balance, which has traditionally been adequate to meet its cash reserve requirements.

Other projects will be completed by tax dollars that are collected and expensed in the Special Building Fund.  Even though the tax asking in the other funds, such as the Special Building Fund, is being reduced, they are not being eliminated.  There will still be funds available in the Special Building Fund to complete needed projects for the next 20 years, just as there has been over the last 20 years.

The budget for the project allows for inflationary factors at the time the project would be bid.  Also, there is a 5% contingency that is built into the project budget.

The additional buildings on the north edge of the property that are not being built into the corridor will be repurposed for use as storage for custodial supplies, athletic equipment, permanent records, and for a girls wrestling practice area.  None of the “detached buildings” to the north of the main building will be demolished or removed from the site.  All of the existing space will be repurposed for immediate or for future use.  

The elevation changes from the parking lot to the main building will be addressed through the assistance of the architectural firm and a civil engineer when they finalize the project plans.  The current plans are only a “footprint plan” that do not address elevation changes.  Through surveying the area, careful planning, and some dirt and concrete work, any concerns regarding elevation differences will be addressed when the final building plans are completed.

The weight room, the flexible meeting room, and the restroom located in the southeast corner of the proposed plan will be available for use by the public, which is why they have been strategically located on the southeast corner of the addition. To keep the school secure, we’ll use a key fob system on certain doors. This will let people into these areas after school hours while keeping the rest of the building locked.

The architect who evaluated the history classrooms size and placement in the plan has deemed them to be large enough, based on our enrollment in those classes.  Currently, we do not believe they need to be enlarged to meet our students’ needs. Moving the middle school special education room to the area near the woods and robotics room offers the potential for a better learning environment. Its current location in the north building next to the weights room can be noisy at times.  However, this is a great point and we will ensure this is considered further, as these plans are not “set in stone.”

Yes, staff have been part of the planning process and will continue to be. For example, Dan Cyboron’s knowledge has already been extensively utilized by the architect and will continue to be used throughout the project planning and design phase.

The green building on the north side of the school is currently used as a shop for the buses, welding, and agriculture education classroom.  Once this area is vacated by the students in welding and the agriculture classes, it could be repurposed for use as a “bus barn.”  Currently, the space is not large enough to get a full-size bus into to perform oil changes and routine maintenance.  If the ag classroom was removed from the building, that would provide the additional floor space needed to get a bus in there.  The additional space vacated by the welding room could also be used for vehicle storage during the extreme cold of winter months.  When vehicles are left outside exposed to the elements it makes them harder and sometimes impossible to start.  This building would be repurposed for fleet vehicle maintenance and storage.  The tin on the exterior and the roof needs to be replaced, but the steel structure itself is still in good shape.  The other north buildings would be repurposed for use as storage for custodial, permanent records storage, and athletic equipment.

Learning is our first priority at Ravenna Public Schools.  We continually engage the staff in training and support to improve their teaching.  The state has a measure that they apply to all school districts across the state to see how schools are doing with student learning.  The name for this accountability system is the “AQuESTT Rating.”  Schools are ranked based on student academic state testing data and a variety of other factors and given a rating of “Excellent,” “Great,” “Good,” or “Needs Improvement.”  The most recent ranking for the Ravenna Public School District, which is available for review by patrons at https://nep.education.ne.gov/, was “Excellent,” the highest designation the district can receive.  Students at Ravenna Public Schools receive a high quality and rigorous education, and the Nebraska State Department of Education has recognized that fact by conferring this designation of “Excellent.”

This is a keen observation.  The election cycle at the national level and at the local level will lead to changes for the school district.  It is the job of the board of education and the administration to help the school district navigate these political changes.  There are indeed many unknowns and change is eminent.

The slides from the presentation are available to the public on the school’s website at: https://www.ravennabluejays.org/.  Just scroll down until you see the “RPS Building Project Proposal” link and click on the link.  The slides are there for the public to view.  The information for the other community input meetings scheduled to be held on October 10th and on November 7th will be very similar to the initial meeting held on September 17th.  The meetings are not designed to “build on each other.”  If the board decides to call for a bond election to help fund the project, there will be additional information provided to the public.  The board of education will make this decision in December or January and then more information will become available.

The slides from the presentation are available to the public on the school’s website at: https://www.ravennabluejays.org/.  Just scroll down until you see “RPS Building Project Proposal” and click on the link.  The slides with the proposed plans are available there for your review.

Currently, there have not been a lot of concerns expressed by the staff about sports equipment storage.  The primary storage concerns that have been identified is space for the storage of permanent records, which is addressed through the plan.  The north buildings will provide some additional space for sports equipment storage that currently does not exist.

The architect made the assessment of the existing building site and of the existing electrical, plumbing, and structural aspects of the school’s infrastructure when considering the proposed building plan.  The architect was instructed to design the proposed building project in the most economical and logistically practical manner possible. His education, training, and experience on multiple projects of a similar nature led him to locate the additional classrooms where they are currently located.  Placing the classrooms on the open space in front of the elementary would create more classrooms that do not have an exterior window for either the current high school classrooms or for the current elementary classrooms.  The school would like to utilize as much natural lighting as possible.  Having students in classrooms that only have artificial lighting is not ideal.

The architect assessed the existing building site and the existing electrical, plumbing, and structural aspects of the school’s infrastructure when considering the proposed building plan.  The architect was instructed to design the proposed building project in the most economical and logistically practical manner possible. His education, training, and experience on multiple projects of a similar nature led him to locate the additional classrooms where they are currently located.  Placing the classrooms on the open space in front of the elementary would create more classrooms that do not have an exterior window for either the current high school classrooms or for the current elementary classrooms.  The school would like to utilize as much natural lighting as possible.  Having students in classrooms that only have artificial lighting is not ideal.

The security vestibules will still allow for people who are coming in for sporting and fine arts events to enter the building.  The security aspects of the vestibule will only be utilized during the school day.

The space between the main building and the Youth Center will be used for classrooms.  Some green space will remain.  The plan is to add only the necessary space to keep the project cost as low as possible.

Yes. Additionally, the additional space where the classes from the north buildings will be added, will have more energy efficient lighting, heating, and cooling than the current classrooms in the north building.

No, the plan is to have all academic programs under one roof.  So, the robotics classroom will be included in the addition.  The robotics program could use some of the north building for storage purposes.

Based on student enrollment, the programming the school district intends to provide in the ag classroom and shop area, and the architect’s understanding of the space required, the space for the agriculture classroom and shop will be sufficient.

The area where the corridor and the Life Skills Building will take into consideration access and egress issues, when the final plans are drawn.  There is an elevation issue to contend with, which the architect and the contractor will address.

Yes, there are soundproofing materials and design components that can be include to minimize noise transfer in the shop and robotics areas.

Yes.

Yes.