The Papillion-La Vista School Board unanimously voted Monday night to put a $109.9 million bond issue in front of voters.
The measure, which looks to address safety and expansion within the district, will be placed on the May primary ballot.
Proposed improvements to safety and security would include making sure all classrooms have doors with locks, as well as establishing a line of sight from the office to the front door in all schools. The plans also call for enhancing security by adding controlled access entryways at seven schools.
The bond would also expand the high schools to include a 9th grade wing, flexible learning space for fine arts and additional PE classroom space. It also proposes including the expansion of the current elementary schools and building an entirely new elementary school.
Superintendent Andy Rikli tells 6 News one of the biggest improvements will be closing open classrooms. As it sits, some schools have open-concept classrooms that do not have a door. “We have a number of older elementary buildings where the design concept was open in the past, which meant open classrooms for instructional purposes. It’s a nightmare for safety, so we need to close those classrooms off."
The bond has been discussed for months, but recent events, like the deadly shooting in Florida, made safety a more immediate issue. The average taxpayer living in the district will pay an additional $40 per $100,000 of valuation every year if the bond passes.