Does the high school sit on a floodplain?

According to the most recent surveys administered by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) in 2010, neither Amboy High School nor Central Elementary School sit on a floodplain.

The entire Amboy High School campus sits in Zone X, which means it is outside of the 0.2 percent annual chance floodplain. An annual chance floodplain is defined as areas outside of the 500-year floodplain.

The Central School building sits on Zone X ground as well. However immediately to the west of the building is Zone A, which is an area inundated by one percent annual chance flooding.

Maps showing the floodplain in and around the Amboy area are available for viewing at the Lee Co. Soil & Water Conservation Office or City Hall.

How will this affect my taxes?

By voting yes to support our students and teachers the tax rate will increase to 0.86 per $100 of assessed value for the next 20 years.

Figuring how this will impact your individual bottom line is a little more complicated. While the tax calculator at amboy272kids.wixsite.com/272kids is helpful, it does not account for exemptions afforded to various categories of home/property owners. Farmland is also assessed differently. Check with the Lee Co. Treasurer’s Office to learn how this will affect your individual property taxes. The office can be reached at (815) 288-4477.

What will happen with the current jr. high building?

During construction of the addition, the building will still function and be maintained as a usable school building for grades 5-8. The current timeline is that students will occupy the new building beginning in the fall of 2019. The board will seek options that may include but not be limited to partnering with a viable purchaser or leasee, tearing down the building, or selling the existing property (minus the bus garage area).  The Board is committed to developing a solid exit plan that will NOT leave an abandoned building in the community.

Will junior high and high school students be separated during the school day?

Yes. Grades 5-8 and grades 9-12 will not interact during the school day any more than they do currently (i.e. bus rides to and from school; musical practices; joint band and chorus performances; district wide events/assemblies). The junior high addition to the high school will contain its own secure school entrance, classrooms, art room, music room, and cafeteria. As proposed, junior high students will use the current high school gymnasium and locker rooms for physical education classes, recess and sporting events, crossing just one high school hallway to reach that area. Similarly, the current high school library will be remodeled to become the junior high media center/library. In order to reach this room, junior high students will cross one high school hallway.

Editor’s note: This is part 3 of a series of frequently asked questions and answers about the upcoming General Obligation Bond question on the March 20th ballot.