A $180 million bond that will fund construction in the Kansas City, Kansas, school district won voter approval by a margin of roughly 66% to 34%.
The vote was the district’s second attempt to pass a bond this year, after a $420 million bond that would have covered more projects failed in April.
Approving a bond gives a school district permission to borrow money and pay off the loan with property taxes. But the district said the bond that voters just approved won’t raise property taxes, because the school board will reduce taxes in other areas.
It focuses on a short list of major projects:
- Replacing Central Middle School.
- Replacing Argentine Middle School.
- Replacing Silver City and Noble Prentis elementary schools with one new school.
- Adding classrooms to Sumner Academy of Arts and Science.
The district estimates each middle school would cost about $66.4 million. The elementary school would cost about $35 million. And adding classrooms to Sumner would cost about $7 million.
KCKPS chose projects to improve schools that are in poor condition or need more space.
Central Middle School and Sumner Academy are using detached modular classrooms for extra room. Argentine Middle School faces flooding, plumbing issues and other building problems.
The addition to Sumner will connect to the main building, include eight classrooms and additional restrooms, and allow the school to stop using mobile classrooms.
Both new middle schools will be two stories and about 125,000 square feet, able to serve 900-950 students.
District records show Silver City Elementary School was built in 1971. Noble Prentis Elementary School has existed since 1911 but was most recently rebuilt around 1955.
A new three-story elementary school will replace both buildings and serve 500-550 students.
All new buildings will incorporate upgraded security, high-tech classrooms and career and technical education facilities.
Research shows a connection between certain building improvements — especially fixing infrastructure like heating and air conditioning, roofs, plumbing and furnaces — and higher achievement.
During earlier bond discussions, Superintendent Anna Stubblefield said she was concerned that poor conditions in some buildings distract students from learning, such as when they’re focused on warming up after a walk to a detached classroom.
Some of the projects are also linked. The new Argentine Middle School would be built on the current Silver City site after Silver City students move into a new school at the Noble Prentis location.
A $180 million bond would normally raise property taxes on a $100,000 home by about $29 a year and a $200,000 home by about $57 a year. The district says the median home value in Kansas City, Kansas, is $112,500.
But the school board is committed to reducing property taxes in other areas — capital outlay and the library fund — to offset the increase.
That means the bond won’t necessarily raise the property tax rate, but taxpayers will be on the hook to pay off the bond even if a future board decided to raise property taxes for other reasons.
The district’s chief of operations, Steve Lilly, said that the district can afford to reduce the taxes going into its capital outlay fund because newer buildings are cheaper to maintain.
This story was originally published in The Beacon.
