General Information

Election Results

The students, parents, staff and Board of the MRH School District wish to send out a big THANK YOU! to the community for your support of Propositions Y and S. We are truly grateful for the continued involvement and support of this community, and we see the passage of these propositions as an endorsement of the district's progress.

Complete results from Tuesday, April 6th's election can be found here.

Stay tuned as we update this page in the future to show the work being completed by the bond.

Introduction

Over the past 18 months, the Board of Education of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District has engaged members of the community for their input and ideas on maintaining the financial health of the District as it looks ahead to the future. This process involved a phone survey conducted by an outside organization, the creation of a Community Engagement Leadership Task Force, a two-month BoardWalk program in which Board members and administrators went door to door in the district, and a series of community feedback meetings.

The results of the feedback are clear: community members wish to continue supporting the education programs provided by the MRH schools, programs that have resulted in significantly improved student achievement, increased attendance, more highly qualified teachers, and steadily growing home values. (See the “Report Card to the Community" for more details.)

In order to meet the needs of the community, the Board unanimously developed a three-part approach. The first two parts include the placement of a bond issue and an operating levy increase on the April 6, 2010 ballot. The third part involves additional strategic cuts to the budget over and above the $1.4 million cut from the past two years. The Board feels this plan is the best way forward to ensure the academic success of our students and the growth and financial stability of our community:

Proposition Y

The bond issue, known as Proposition Y, includes $3.3 million to refinance debt and $5.7 million for projects that will:

  • Continue the laptop computer and other technology programs,
  • Re-build high school front steps and other access points to ensure safety for students and to meet the requirements of the Americans for Disabilities Act,
  • Continue the progress toward meeting the goals of the community-led long-range facility plan (for example, installing additional parking at the high school), and
  • Take care of facility needs now before the costs of repairing or upgrading become too prohibitive.

Click here for a complete list of projects. Passage of Proposition Y would result in an increase in your tax rate of approximately nine cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The last bond was approved by our community three years ago.

Proposition S

The operating levy increase called Proposition S would provide the district the necessary funds to be able to continue offering the programs and services it currently provides, including small class sizes, free all-day kindergarten, Advanced Placement classes at the high school, the expedition program at the middle school, high quality teachers, and the high school athletics program. If passed, Proposition S would provide an increase in general operating revenue in the amount of 67 cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The last time our community approved an operating levy increase was nine years ago.

Budget Cuts

In addition to the above propositions, the Board is planning on cutting $480,000 from the budget over the next two school years. These cuts follow the previous two years of cuts in the amount of $1.4 million, which included cuts to professional development, school clubs at the elementary, staffing cuts, and the elimination of the athletics program at the middle school.

If you have additional questions, check out our Frequently Asked Questions or contact any member of the Board of Education.