Letter: Positive impacts of Facilities Master Plan

As a Twain parent and the president of my parent teacher organization, I feel lucky that Twain Elementary was one of the first schools in the Iowa City Community School District to receive improvements in conjunction with the Facilities Master Plan. These improvements included: geothermal heating and cooling, window and wall replacements, and accessibility renovations. Our school also received a new gymnasium, as well as dedicated art and music rooms. These classroom additions play a vital role in a child's creative learning process and it is foolish to think these classrooms are anything short of a necessity. Simply ask the teachers at Twain, who have seen the change firsthand. I am supportive of the GO bond and FMP because I have seen the positive impact of these improvements. All students deserve the same opportunities.

I also support the bond because my children will not always be Twain Tigers. Although the Twain renovation is complete, many of the improvements at Southeast Junior High and City High are bond dependent. Southeast needs a roof replacement, HVAC renovations, classroom additions, a new kitchen and cafeteria, and much more. City High needs many of those same improvements, as well as increased gym space and lighting renovations. These are all vital to the learning conditions for our students, my children. We must pass this bond to improve schools for the 14,000 students in our district, and the tens of thousands who will benefit for decades to come.

Aaron Gillespie

Iowa City

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