For Superintendent Joe Sornberger, the path toward a new Pre-K and Kindergarten addition in the Jasper County Community Unit School District #1 has been a long one — decades, in fact. “This conversation’s been going on for thirty years,” he said. “Every superintendent who’s come in has talked about it. The goal has always been the same: to bring our youngest learners together in Newton. We’re finally at a point where we can actually do it.”

A Decision Years in the Making

The plan centers on a proposed 21,000-square-foot addition east of Newton Elementary School. The base bid calls for two Pre-K classrooms, eight classrooms, a new cafeteria, office space, and the conversion of the current multipurpose room into a true gymnasium. “Right now, we don’t really have two gyms,” Sornberger said. “Our multipurpose room gets used for everything — lunch, P.E., assemblies. This will finally give students and teachers room to breathe.”

The board took an alternate bid which will add two more classrooms, bringing the total from six to eight classrooms and two Pre-K spaces. Sornberger sees it as an investment in long-term efficiency. “I may not need eight Kindergarten classrooms right away,” he explained. “What I definitely need is space — for resource teachers, for speech-language pathologists who are currently on the stage. It’s cheaper to build that space now than to come back later.”

No Bond, No Tax Hike

What’s made the project finally feasible, Sornberger said, is careful financial planning and a mix of existing funding sources — not new taxes. “We’re not going for a bond referendum,” he said plainly, “We’re paying for it outright.” Sornberger expects the building addition project to come in $8,840,357.

Funding will draw primarily from three sources:

1. Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) revenue, carefully saved over several years;

2. 1% Sales Tax funds designated for capital improvements; and

3. Energy Transition Grant reimbursements that replenish what the district initially spends.

“In short, we’ll use CPPRT money to start,” he said. “Then we’ll spend from the energy grant, and once that reimbursement comes back, we’ll move to our 1% sales-tax capital fund. When you combine that with what’s still in O&M, it balances out.”

By January 2026, he expects roughly $1.1 million in working cash, with new revenues continuing during the construction period. “We’ll still have CPPRT coming in, and we’ll have another year of sales-tax money before students even move into the building,” he said. “When it’s done, we’ll be back in good shape — and we’ll have done it without raising anyone’s taxes for the building addition.”

The “Why” Behind the Project

For Sornberger, three motivations stand out: reducing transportation time, increasing instructional hours, and improving student safety.

“As the largest land-mass district in Illinois, we bus kids all over the county,” he said. “Right now, a Pre-K or Kindergarten student gets on a bus, rides through the route, ends up at Newton Elementary, gets on another bus, and then rides to St. Marie. Some of them are on a bus for more than an hour — each way.”

The result, he said, is lost learning time. “If it’s an hour a day, that’s 185 hours of instruction a year — gone,” he said. “And we’re talking about our youngest kids, the ones at the most foundational stage of learning.”

Safety is another driver. “In Newton, we have city police and the sheriff’s office right here,” he said. “At Ste. Marie, we’ve had to hire an SRO to be out there, ten miles away. By moving those students to Newton, all our safety resources — law enforcement, nurses, specialists — are within blocks.”

What Happens to St. Marie

Perhaps the most sensitive part of the plan is what will happen to St. Marie School, a beloved building in a small community with deep roots. Sornberger understands those emotions but says the practical realities are clear. “Ninety-six percent of the students who attend St. Marie don’t live in Ste. Marie,” he said. It doesn’t make sense to keep operating two sites for the same age group when almost all those families live elsewhere.”

As for the building itself, the district’s approach mirrors what it did when Willow Hill School closed years ago. “We sold that building to the village for a dollar,” he said. “That’s what we’ll do again. I don’t want to hand a building over to someone who might use it in a way that doesn’t fit the community. The village can make it a community center, host events, have weddings — it’ll stay part of the community.”

The district will also save on maintenance and transportation costs, though Sornberger doesn’t include those in his financial projections. “They’re a benefit, absolutely, but that’s not what drives the decision,” he said. “My big three reasons are time, learning, and safety.”

Built for Function, Not Flash

Sornberger is quick to emphasize that this isn’t a showpiece project. “This is not a building we’re putting up to celebrate architecture,” he said. “It’s a functional, conservative structure built to last a long time. No glass ceilings, no waterfalls — just space that works.”

The addition will also allow the district to reconfigure grade-level groupings for more efficiency. “That opens up rooms for teachers who’ve been sharing tight spaces.”

He points to other recent infrastructure wins — a new elevator, updated HVAC, and a greenhouse funded by grants — as proof the district can execute projects prudently. “Those upgrades gave us the first air-conditioned graduation in Newton history,” he said. “We’re not chasing extravagance. We’re investing in what matters.”

A Board and a Community Aligned

While final approval rests with the Board of Education, Sornberger believes the alignment is strong. The board voted unanimously to move forward on the project,” he said. “When we started, I had a $6.5 million plan — just enough to get kids in the building. The board came back and said, ‘Let’s build this like we’re never doing it again.’ They added the cafeteria — which also enables additional gym space via the multipurpose room — and the two extra classrooms because now is the time. We may never get a better financial window than this.”

He credits the board’s fiscal stewardship for creating that window. “When I got here, our tax rate was $4.36,” he said. “Today, it’s $4.01, and my goal is to get it under $4.00. He’s candid about public concerns. “We’ve been transparent every step of the way. I always tell folks — come in, let’s talk. The door’s open.”

Working With Partners

The district is again partnering with Upchurch Architecture of Mattoon — the firm behind our recent roofing projects as well as work in Teutopolis and Dieterich — and Holland Construction of Swansea, which previously managed Jasper County’s elevator and HVAC upgrades. “They’ve looked out for the district’s interest and delivered on time,” Sornberger said. “We trust them to do the same here.”

A Community Investment, Not a Burden

Sornberger knows the decision carries weight — not only financially but emotionally. “Closing a school is hard. Change is hard,” he said. “But at the end of the day, this isn’t about buildings. It’s about serving kids better.”

He sees the project as the culmination of steady, responsible progress. “We’ve fixed the roofs, we’ve updated HVAC, we’ve made things safer and more efficient,” he said. “This is just the next logical step — one that finally gives our youngest learners a home in Newton.”

The payoff, he believes, will be felt far beyond the school walls. “You’ll have parents dropping off little ones at the same place as their older kids,” he said. “Families won’t have to drive across the county. Kids will spend less time on buses and more time learning. And everyone — from police to teachers to specialists — will be working together under one roof.”

“ it.’ That’s what this will feel like for our board and community. After 30 years of talking about it — we made it.”