Springfield Public Schools go back in session August 15, and SPS Superintendent Dr. John Jungmann said the focus this year will be “One Team, One Dream.” The idea is for the entire community to be involved in making sure kids get a quality education. Part of that, he said, is looking at what kinds of facilities students need to be able to learn "and what kind of safety environments and equitable access to accessibility and those things need to take place," Jungmann said.
A community task force, made up of about 30 people from what Jungmann describes as coming "from all walks of life" is leading an effort to review the district’s facilities plan. This fall, it’s expected to make recommendations to the Springfield Board of Education regarding next steps.
This follows the failure of a bond issue for schools in April 2017. Jungmann said feedback from voters after that election indicated they were concerned about the size of the proposal, and they wanted more detailed information. He said the community task force will lay out more specific plans before another bond issue is placed on the ballot.
"We really feel like they'll give us a list of projects that can answer some of those questions for voters so they know exactly what they're voting for, and we're really focusing on those that need it the most," Jungmann said.
It’s up to the school board to decide if another bond issue for SPS will be placed before voters, but Jungmann said he’s confident that will happen.
