Voters in the Wichita school district could decide as early as February whether to approve a $450 million bond plan to build several new schools and close about a dozen old ones.
School board members got their first look Wednesday at a draft timeline for a bond election.
It would require the board to approve a facilities master plan later this month and submit a bond application to the state by mid-September. That would allow for a special election on Feb. 25.
Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said nothing is decided yet. But a bond would help the district weather declining enrollment and address about $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance needs by reducing its overall footprint.
"We need fewer buildings,” Bielefeld said. “We can be more efficient with how we staff them, and we can create better, more innovative learning spaces by doing so."
District leaders say the plan would not require a tax increase. But it would require extending a current bond tax that is projected to end next year.
Board president Stan Reeser said the district should move quickly before the tax rate on its current bonds — a $370 million bond issue approved by voters in 2008 — drops to zero.
“This is about reducing our administrative footprint,” Reeser said. “And due to the timing of paying off the old bonds, we can do this without raising our mill levy.”
Board member Kathy Bond said she’s not sure she will support putting a bond issue to voters. She said the district should exhaust all other options for additional revenue, such as grants or even private donations, before asking taxpayers for more money.
“My constituents have said that they feel the master plan is somewhat grandiose. They’re fearful of this bond issue, and they don’t want to see it happen,” Bond said.
“You all are saying your taxes won’t go up. But … you’re going to let them overlap so they don’t feel that change.”
The proposal, crafted by consultants hired by the board, calls for building five new elementary schools and two middle schools. It would also build a new early childhood center, convert two elementary schools to K-8 schools, add a career center focused on construction trades, and add athletic fields to Northeast Magnet High School.
Wichita’s enrollment has declined by more than 8% over the past seven years. The school board voted in March to close six schools to help fill a $42 million budget deficit.
Susan Willis, the district’s chief financial officer, presented a draft timeline to board members during a special meeting Wednesday.
It proposes that the board pass a resolution calling for a bond issue on Sept. 9. Approval from the Kansas Board of Education could happen as early as Oct. 9.
Willis recommended an in-person vote on the last Tuesday of February, rather than a mail ballot. She said administrative deadlines are just part of a successful bond issue.
“There’s an entire communication strategy related to bond work,” Willis said. “How do we do outreach? How do we do public awareness? How do we encourage voters to come and let their voices be heard?
“It’s a tremendous amount of work, there is no doubt. But certainly that kind of investment from a community into the school system, it requires this kind of investment of time as well.”
The last bond issue for Wichita schools was approved in 2008 by a narrow 2% margin. That plan built nine new schools, including the new Southeast High School at 127th East and Pawnee.
Prior to that, in April 2000, voters approved a $284.5 million bond issue, which focused primarily on air-conditioning and other infrastructure upgrades.
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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