by Mary Rupert
Kansas City, Kan., Public School officials tonight said that a $235 million school bond issue on the Nov. 8 ballot will not increase property taxes.
The $235 million in school bonds will be issued without increasing any property taxes, said David Smith, chief of staff for the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools. He said 43 cents of every dollar will come from the state of Kansas for these bonds. The district will build four new school buildings, as well as do renovation and maintenance throughout the district.
Smith was one of several school district officials speaking at the first of three public forums tonight at the West Wyandotte Library, 1737 N. 82nd St., Kansas City, Kan. There was a sparse audience turnout, and there will be two more community forums.
“This bond issue is about improving our buildings, but it’s really about our kids, doing what our kids need in order to make sure they have high quality education to help them reach their dreams and to help us with the economy,” Superintendent Cindy Lane said. Interest rates are considered to be good at this time for bond issues.
Lane said 15 years ago, the district passed a bond issue to air-condition the schools. As the bonds from that issue are paid off, the district is asking voters to approve a bond issue for new construction and maintenance of existing buildings. Since the amount of the bonds will be about the same, about $3.72 a month on a home with an assessed value of $50,000, she said, there will be no tax increase to the voters. The $3.72 is the bond and interest part of the district’s property taxes that will be continued under the proposed bond issue.
During the last eight years, the district has built or made major renovations on 14 buildings, she said. Several school buildings have already been replaced.
“$235 million is what this bond issue is, and frankly, we’ve identified $500 million in deferred maintenance needs in our schools,” Lane said. “We know we can’t do it all right now, but we need to have a long-range plan.”
The bond issue will have a $307 million effect on the local economy in Kansas City, Kan., according to Lane. There will be about $105 million in salaries for construction workers who will work on the improvements, she said.
Lane said the work will take about five years to be completed.
Where the money goes
Evelyn Hill, president of the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education, said the improvements from the bond issue will affect “every school and every kid.”
Two new middle school buildings and two new elementary school buildings are part of the bond issue, according to Smith.
Bethel and White Church elementary schools will be combined with a new building on the White Church campus, he said. One of the older elementary school buildings will be converted into a preschool, he said.
Welborn Elementary will be replaced with a new building on the site, he said.
Northwest Middle School will be replaced on its campus, he said.
West Middle School and Coronado Middle School will be combined with a new building on the Coronado campus, he said.
William Allen White and Parker elementary schools will be combined and students will attend elementary school in the building currently occupied by West Middle School, he said. The building will be renovated for an elementary school.
Improvements will be made to buildings through the district, including new security features for building entrances, according to Smith. They will include security cameras in the buildings. The district’s buildings are an average 57 years old, he said.
Nine elementary playgrounds will be built, as well as remodeling throughout the district, and maintenance and repair to the district’s schools, Smith said. Some of the elementary schools do not have a functional playground currently.
Also included will be college and career spaces for high schools and academies; and career exploration space for middle schools. The space will allow the students to work collaboratively, he said.There also will be new science labs for the high schools.
Smith said kitchen additions and upgrades are planned at six elementary and one middle school. Some of them currently do not have kitchens, he added.
Future growth in the district
“We’re a growing school district,” Lane said. “We have more than 23,000 kids.”
She said a study showed about 550 to 600 students is the size of an average elementary school in the metropolitan area. It is an efficient size, and that is the district’s goal, she said. Class size should be 21 to 25 students for each teacher, she said.
“We grew 120 students this year,” Lane said. “Our trend over the past five years has been 400 to 500 students a year, and growing.” When preschool children are added, it’s a significant increase, she said.
What’s significant for this community is the growth is strong for elementary but more significant for middle and high school, Lane said.
“That’s exciting for me, because it says families are coming in, they want to keep their kids in school until they graduate from KCK,” Lane said.
Lane said 70 percent of all students who graduated from the district’s high schools last year received an academic scholarship to college, 60 percent had Diploma-Plus certificates or credentials, and 35 percent graduated with college credits.
“We’re doing the right things,” she said, “but there’s more we need to do.”
Two more community forums are planned on the school bond referendum. They will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 10, South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kan., and at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Main Kansas City, Kan., Public Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan.
For more information on the school bond election, visit www.kckps.org/index.php/please-vote.
The ballot question: Shall Unified School District No. 500, Wyandotte County, Kansas (Kansas City), issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $235,000,000, to pay the costs to purchase and improve sites, to demolish certain existing facilities, and to acquire, construct, equip, furnish, repair, remodel and make additions to buildings used for school district purposes, and all other necessary improvements related thereto, and to pay fees and expenses related thereto; all pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 10-101 et seq.; K.S.A. 25-2018(f); K.S.A. 72-6761; and K.S.A. 75-2315 et seq.?