The next Community Conversation about Prop L
is Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
Get all the details here!

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting Ladue School District’s Future-Ready Schools website! This site has been developed and will be continually updated in order to provide the Ladue Schools community with up-to-date, accurate information about Proposition L, a bond referendum on the April 6, 2021 ballot.

What is Prop L?

Prop L is a $126 million bond referendum on the April 6 ballot. If approved by voters, the district will renovate its four K-4 elementary schools and Ladue Middle School with the goal of ensuring all schools in the district are future ready – both structurally and educationally.  (Recent new construction and/or improvements at the Ladue Early Childhood Center, the Fifth Grade Center and Ladue Horton Watkins High School have already been completed.) With the passing of Proposition L, additional substantial construction projects are not anticipated to be necessary for the foreseeable future.

We hope you will take a few moments to roam around the site to learn more about Proposition L which is being proposed to voting residents of the Ladue School District to accomplish the following:

• Update infrastructure at the four K-4 elementary schools and Ladue Middle School in order to decrease maintenance and utility costs – even when square footage is added. 
• Enhance safety features from intruders, as well as to meet FEMA guidelines for withstanding severe weather events, such as tornadoes.
• Become fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) so all students, staff and visitors have equal access to our district facilities.
• Create shared spaces (such as cafeterias, libraries, etc.) and classrooms that are right-sized for enrollment and support today’s best practices which include providing students with experiences in collaboration, small group work, and cross-discipline studies.

As you will see in the Research section of this website, the district completed phone and online surveys in November 2020 to gauge patron support for these projects. The results were presented at the Nov. 23, 2020 Board of Education meeting and reflect that 78% of those surveyed were in favor of the district moving forward with these projects, even when informed of the total cost of the projects as outlined in the Funding section of this website. These results were a key component in the Board’s determination to move forward with these projects.

If you have a question or concern that is not addressed on this website, we encourage you to get in touch with us at input@ladueschools.net. Questions of broad interest will continue to be added to the Frequently Asked Questions section.

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The following information is included on this site…

Background. Find out how we identified needs at our K-4 and middle school campuses and what has led us to asking voter permission to move forward with these improvements.

Project Research. Learn about the research the district has completed to inform their decisions about these projects, including detailed results of the surveys conducted in the fall of 2020.

Funding.  This section outlines the cost of the various projects and what the passing of Proposition L would mean for district taxpayers. In short, the total cost of all five projects is $126 million and is estimated to increase the debt service levy paid by taxpayers by $0.08 (from $0.78 to $0.86) which equates to $76/yr. ($6.33/mo.) on a $500,000 house. An interactive Tax Calculator is included in this section so you can see the estimated increase in property tax for an individual home.

Building Concepts.  This section includes the concepts currently being refined for Old Bonhomme Elementary School, Spoede Elementary School and Ladue Middle School — the three schools which are in need of the most extensive improvements. Also included is a list of the features being incorporated into these projects. As these plans are further refined, and the Reed and Conway Elementary School designs become available, additional information will be added to this section.

Community Participation. There are many ways for our community to virtually learn more about these projects and to share thoughts and ideas. This section provides all the details! Virtual Community Conversations begin in February!

About Our Partners. A vitally important initial step in this process was selecting the right partners to work beside us. This section tells you about these impressive companies, as well as how and why they were selected.

Frequently Asked Questions. This is where we will put answers to the questions we receive most frequently.

News and Publications.  In this section, we will include all articles, videos and media coverage related to this project. There have already been five articles shared with our Ladue Schools community through our Link newsletter that is mailed to all district households. If you missed reading them, you can find them in this section.

Comments?  Questions?  Suggestions?
Contact us at input@ladueschools.net