Frequently Asked Questions
What does a new gymnasium mean to me?
Let’s look at the positive impact for the people of the Madison School District.
- Fulfills another infrastructure need of the district, complementing the recent additions of the Middle School and Elementary School.
- Meets the school’s activities needs for years to come.
- Seats nearly 2,200 people for sporting events, rivaling other schools with similar enrollments.
- Gives MHS its own gym facility for the first time in school history.
- Floor space allows for better use and seating for sports like gymnastics and wrestling and enough space for marching band practices.
- Cross-court size allows more space for practices and youth volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics and basketball tournaments. These tournaments create a huge economic impact for the community.
- Large enough to hold graduation ceremonies for MHS Seniors.
- Convenient access to and from the gym, restrooms and concession stands, plus access to current Middle School Gym from the same lobby.
- More gym space that is in critical demand for 7-12 grade athletics and activities.
Why does the Madison Community need a New Gymnasium?
Since the current high school was built in 1965 without spectator seating in the gymnasium, MHS has not had a facility to call “home.” Competition events were housed at the downtown auditorium and then the DSU Fieldhouse until recently. High school teams now compete in the middle school gymnasium, which was built on a scale to house middle school events. It has proven to have inadequate seating, both in the size of seating and number of seats, to host most high school athletic events. The number of sports teams competing in the same season also causes scheduling problems for both competition and practice times. See the practice schedule from two weeks in December 2006.
Why can’t the DSU Fieldhouse still be used for home High School games like it was in the past?
Many things have changed since MHS home games were originally played in the DSU Fieldhouse. The addition of women’s athletics at the collegiate and high school levels have put a “crunch” on gym space for practice and competition. DSU’s volleyball, baseball, softball, track and cheerleading teams also use the Fieldhouse for practice during the school year, allowing for very few open dates for high school competition and practices. There is not a lack of cooperation between MHS and DSU regarding the use of the Fieldhouse; it is simply a time and space issue. A further consideration are the needs of the National Guard Armory.
Why wasn’t a larger gym built with the Middle School or the new Elementary School?
Both of these school building projects were completed using capital outlay funds. Schools are primarily funded by revenue collected through property taxes. The majority of the revenue is used to operate the school and a small portion of the funds raised each year is required to be set aside for bigger or “capital” improvements (building repairs, new computers, buses or new buildings). Since there isn’t an excess of available funds left over from operating the district’s education programs, all available capital outlay funds were used to build the middle and elementary schools. These funds are now committed to paying for the elementary school over the next several years and there aren’t any other sources of revenue for the district to use towards a gymnasium project.
What about using revenues from the City of Madison’s extra penny sales tax for funding a new Gymnasium?
Madison’s extra penny sales tax was originally used to help build the Community Center. Since that project has been completed and construction loans have been paid, the city has earmarked future sales tax revenue for other projects including the Lewis & Clark Water Project, 911 call center and bike trail. In addition, city collected sales tax funds are typically only used for city-owned building projects.
This community has recently built a Community Center and an Elementary School, does it really need more gym space?
The current practice schedules for Madison athletics use all available gym space in the community, including practices before and after school for boys and girls teams. This schedule doesn’t allow the varsity teams to always practice in the gyms where they play games. The community center has dedicated open gym space for members and DSU students and morning practices can’t be held at the new elementary gym because there are no shower facilities. Besides the full practice schedule, space for games for 7-12 grade athletics is also needed at the same facilities.
Is this being proposed only because the boys basketball team is having a good year, or is this bigger than this year’s team?
This proposed gymnasium would give the school an athletic/activity home for the first time in the history of Madison Central. That makes the project much bigger than a good basketball team. There are many benefits other than more seating space for fans at athletic events. All indoor activities (including the band, gymnastics and wrestling programs) would benefit from the opportunity to host more and bigger events.
What are some of the benefits of a new gym facility to the patrons of the district and the community?
There are many benefits that would touch the lives of nearly everyone in the community. Here are a few:
- MHS seniors would have the opportunity to graduate in their own gymnasium.
- Expanded seating capacity for all events, including enough to host some regional competition events.
- In addition to seating, there is also expanded floor space. This translates to holding multiple youth contests (basketball, gymnastics, wrestling and volleyball) at the same time for tournament purposes (see www.madisonpride.com for economic impact figures). Since this facility is connected to the current middle school gym, it offers even more space opportunities. This also gives the band, wrestling and gymnastics programs the required space to hold events.
Can a new Gymnasium be built for less money?
Several factors are involved in building a new facility, and cost is certainly one of them. A gymnasium that would meet the school’s needs today, and for years to come is also an important factor. This facility is the product of careful study comparing Madison’s size and needs to other schools of similar size. Madison doesn’t need huge arenas like Sioux Falls or Watertown, but does have similar needs to places like Lennox, Salem and Volga, which have all recently built new gymnasiums. If this facility was built with the current High School in the 1960’s or the Middle School in the 1990’s, the cost would have been less than it is today. However, with the current construction costs, this is a reasonable price to build a practical facility to meet Madison’s needs.
If this building proposal is voted down, will the school build it anyway like the Middle School?
There is a big difference between the two building projects, and the answer is NO, the school will not build it anyway. After failed bond issues for building the Middle School in the early 1990's, cuts were made to lower the price tag so the board could build the school with capital outlay certificates. These monies are collected through property taxes each year and set aside of major improvements, such as a new school. The school board has discretion to use these funds without a public vote, and that is how both the Middle School and Elementary School were built. Since all available outlay funds are being used to retire the debt on the Elementary School, the district has no other means to fund a new Gymnasium. The other issue regarding the Gymnasium proposal is that the volunteer committee researching this issue has heard loud and clear from the public that a new facility should be "built right" and to not cut every corner possible to save a few dollars. District patrons see this as an opportunity to meet their school activity needs for years to come with one building having the proper size and space, and would not support a shrunken version leaving the community with facility that is inadequate for its intended use.
