In two weeks, the Springfield school board plans to dig into details of a $220 million bond issue the Community Task Force on Facilities recently recommended be placed on the April ballot.

The board listened, and started to react, Tuesday as task force co-chairs Bridget Dierks and David Hall outlined the entire three-month, nine-meeting process, which identified priority school projects including:

Board members did not voice any overt opposition to pursuing a bond issue — which, if approved, will not change the property tax rate — or to the list of specific projects recommended. But they made clear through discussion with task force co-chairs and district officials that they have a lot of questions.

"I'm just not willing to have my vote be a blank check on $220 million," said board member Kelly Byrne. " ... Before I'm able to get on board with that, there are just some of these things I'm going to need to understand a little bit better, have a little bit better feeling about what our plan is to spend the money."

Any decision regarding the size, scope and timing of a bond issue rests with the board. To place a bond on the April 2023 ballot, the board must vote by mid-January.

More:SPS task force considers upgrades like shatterproof glass film, firearm detection software

In the coming meetings, the board is expected to discuss the scope of the Pershing remodel, how to handle potential elementary boundary changes, the sequencing of projects (especially Reed and Robberson) and figuring out which of the safety projects will move forward.

Some adjustments are expected because the task force recommended $232 million worth of projects, which is higher than the proposed bond amount.

Proposed safety upgrades includes new gyms, which will double as storm shelters, at Cowden, Holland, Mann, Pittman, Watkins and Wilder elementary schools. The list also includes door and roof alarms, more cameras, playground fences, and adding a shatterproof film on all first-floor windows.

Byrne said he wants to better understand the bidding process and the board's role in the design of the projects. The board will receive a presentation to kick-start the discussion at its Oct. 25 meeting.

"We've got obviously big decisions to make here really quickly and, to me, I see that there's needs, very much, in our facilities in the district," he said. "But, again, I want to focus on the process because if we make mistakes along the way, and we're not 100% responsible along the way ... or we let our guard down, then you may be putting off some of those needs to a later date."

Board members Scott Crise, Steve Makoski and Shurita Thomas-Tate served as liaisons to the task force, where they listened to presentations and toured buildings but did not vote.

Thomas-Tate said she was "thrilled with the outcome."

"I appreciate every single person who participated in those meetings. It was a lot of effort and time commitment," she said.

On Monday, board vice president Maryam Mohammadkhani and members Byrne and Danielle Kincaid received a tour of the schools where the largest bond-funded projects have been proposed.

Kincaid, who seconded Byrne's interest in more information about the process going forward, said the tours led by the task force co-chairs were illuminating.

"There is one thing to see it on paper and it's entirely different to see it in person," Kincaid said of facility needs. "And it's amazing what the staff at those schools are doing to make things work, but it also isn't fair to them."

She described Pipkin as "a funhouse with stairs going every which way."

"It is also not fair to some of our students who don't have the opportunity to go to the IB program there because of accessibility limitations in that school. And that just stood out to me."

This is the second time the school board has convened a Community Task Force on Facilities. The first, in 2018, resulted in the $168 million bond issue approved in 2019.

The 2019 bond issue increased the property tax rate, but the proposal for 2023 will not. It calls for the debt-service levy of 73 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to remain the same.

Mohammadkhani said she worried about the economy and noted, accurately, that while the district may not change its tax rate, property owners may end up paying more if the county assesses their property at higher values in the coming years, which is out of the district's control.

She noted the board will be evaluating its next steps regarding a potential bond in the final months of this year, at the same time it is working on revising the district's strategic plan, which is expected to outline the plan for improving the student achievement levels.

"It is important, when you go to the taxpayers, to say 'This is our commitment to you.' Does that make sense? Not just the optics but it's the actual effort of not just new buildings," Mohammadkhani said. "We've had many speakers come and talk to us about 'Hey, are we improving achievement?'"

Mohammadkhani said the timing of the bond proposal and the new strategic plan will allow the board to present "Plan A and Plan B" together.

The original task force identified enough projects for two future bond issues. Those future projects were evaluated and ranked by the new task force.

In the spring, there was a lot of discussion about who would serve on the task force, with new board members pushing to nominate new members. About half of the roughly 30 students, parents, educators and business leaders who served were new. The others also served on the original task force.

More:SPS board member Kelly Byrne tried to oust task force members who voted for opponents, emails show

Makoski said including a wider range of individuals and perspectives improved the process and the outcome. He called it a "more balanced" task force.

"I do think it brought more to the table. We had some really great in-depth conversations and concepts and ideas," he said. "And, to me, I think that made this task force even stronger."

Board president Denise Fredrick said the district has "buildings in need and they're not going to repair themselves" and she suggested the board act with urgency. "We want to make sure that learning is optimal for them."

At the start of the meeting, task force members Sophia Leonard and Tom Prater addressed the board.

"We had robust discussions of all the buildings, the consequences that were involved (and) came to a very strong conclusion over what needs to be done," said Prater, a former school board member who also served on the 2018 task force.

He noted the task force came to "an almost unanimous decision" that the board should pursue a bond issue in April. Only one dissenting vote, from Carl Herd, was recorded.

"Now we've dropped the ball in your court. These aren't our dollars. These are taxpayer dollars," Prater said. "... We hope you will ask the taxpayers what they feel."

The final list of task force members, which include representatives from all high school feeder patterns:

Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.