On April 2, U. City residents will have the chance bring upgrades to the high school, such as a new library and indoor track, by voting on Proposition U…number two.

In 2009, there was a Prop. U passed to address some objectives in the school district, but the passage of this recent proposition will give the district access to $19.4 million more to spend on improvements through a zero-tax-rate increase bond issue.

A bond is similar to a loan in that the district will be given money which it will have to pay back over time with interest; however, the city has planned so that the tax payer will not be affected. This second point is a very important consideration for every U. City students’ parents.

With the projects funded by the last Prop. U finished early and under budget, U. City is hoping community members will trust they will do the same again. Superintendent Pruitt boasts of the three state accreditation points the district has picked up in the last 18 months, and the community effort that contributed.

“What makes us so unique is the community ownership we take of our schools,” said Pruitt.

But, to focus on the important part, how will U. City High be improved?

The main draw is a new library/media center, which will be included in an addition on the northeastern wing of the building. The district promises that it will be as technologically current as possible, as they look to match school districts like Clayton or Ladue. Pruitt discussed this at a recent community Q&A at Brittany Woods.

“If you think this media center is ‘da bomb,’ you should see what we have envisioned for the high school,” said Pruitt.

In addition to the library/media center, the district plans acoustical improvements and additional renovations to the music rooms, new roofs put on the gymnasiums to eliminate leaking, and modernizations to the locker rooms and athletic offices.

If Prop. U doesn’t pass, however, tax rates may decrease by a small amount, but U. City will be forced to only make “band-aid” repairs to a building built 82 years ago.

Rory Ellinger, the representative in the Missouri House for the 86^th district and a U. City community member, said, “I believe that the character of a community can be found in the selfless choices it makes now on behalf the generations to come.”