Progress Made: Mt. Pleasant School Board Discusses Master Planning for Future of the District

The Mount Pleasant Community School Board met in special session on Monday evening in what turned out to be a full night of discussion.

The first big ticket item was an update on the Mount Pleasant Community Daycare and the sharing of space with the school district. At a previous meeting, a representative with the daycare met with the board and proposed a before and after school program, which would benefit both the district and the city.

Dr. Angie Butler and superintendent John Henriksen met with Matt Barton regarding using space at one elementary building for a before and after school program. Barton suggested developing a survey to develop the needs of the program, which would be distributed on behalf of the daycare. The district plans to continue working with Barton and moving forward with this, although there seems to be no rush.

A lease agreement was signed with South Iowa Symphony Orchestra to utilize a portion of Old Main, which encompasses the entire third floor, two rooms on the second floor, and accessory rooms and walkways.

Superintendent Henriksen then reviewed where the district currently is with master planning. Historically, the district has upgraded elementary A/C in the past 7 years, a facilities assessment report was completed on all buildings in 2021 (support, attendance centers, EVERYTHING), and focus was shifted to support services after that. Multiple sites were considered for the transportation, central receiving, and buildings and ground facility. The old Shottenkirk facility was one idea, with McWhirter’s and behind the high school the other failed contenders. Ultimately, 1515 E Monroe was selected, and completion at that site is scheduled for Spring 2025 for a total cost of just over $3,000,000.

After the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University, the board determined that many needs of the district could be suited by purchasing facilities on central campus. Currently, color guard camp is taking place in the HOWE Student Activity Center, and it seems this won’t be the only activity to occur in this space.

Following this was the district master planning discussion, as board members conversed about what they would like to see in the future. SVPA architects and Dan Culp with Carl A Nelson Construction Company weighed in during the discussion their expertise.

A blueprint for the central office at HOWE Hall was provided to the board, with the first floor consisting of 5 offices, including payroll, director of finance, social worker, director of instruction, and HR. Completing the first floor is the superintendent’s office, a conference room, and a storage and file room, amongst other necessities. The second floor would consist of a homeschool room with two offices and a conference room, as well as a library and additional storage. A large boardroom would allow between 40 and 50 citizens in the audience to attend meetings.

One additional point of discussion was the potential traffic light outside of the high school. A traffic study was conducted in the past, but after meeting with the city, progress has slowed. One citizen believes the city should take responsibility regarding the traffic study and fix the issue of traffic and collisions outside of the school grounds.

It seems the board would like to explore different opportunities to utilize the central campus. One way they may do that is through community engagement, input, and surveys.