A $450 million bond issue proposed by the USD 259 school board will be up for a public vote on February 25, 2025. If the proposal passes, the tax rate would remain at current levels and money would be made available for several projects related to district facilities.
According to the usd259 website, this bond issue would allow the district to; Begin updating classrooms, labs, and career training facilities to align with best practices in teaching and learning; Address critical infrastructure needs such as aging roofs, windows, heating and cooling systems, electrical, and plumbing; Enhance safety and security; Improve accessibility for students with disabilities; Establish a new construction trades FutureReady center to provide up-to-date career training.
“The genesis of the idea of what we needed to have a bond was to update our facility and to keep up with maintenance on buildings that were starting to get pretty old,” School Board President Stan Reeser said. “Wichita public schools started losing population. And so what we have to do is create our school buildings to match our population, and that’s why you’ve seen some school closings in the last couple years.”
The proposal would not raise the current tax rate. The tax rate is currently being impacted by a prior bond issue that is nearly paid off. The new bond issue would simply replace the previous one and the tax rate would remain as it is currently.
One of the major goals of the bond issue is to address student needs regarding facility space. This would involve closing some buildings, rebuilding others and consolidating buildings. Some middle schools, such as Truesdell and Cessna would be demolished and replaced with new K-8 schools. According to Reeser “we’ve shown in studies is that test scores rise and academics improve under a K-8 system… we’re hoping that will make a big difference in academic improvement”. Eventually middle schools will become obsolete and slowly move into a K-8 system across USD 259.
However if the plan does not pass, the facilities master plan will remain in place. Meaning all of the intended changes will still be made, but at a much slower pace. “Instead of phase one being done in 3-5 years, it would probably be more like 10-20” according to Reeser. Reeser says to expect building closures and consolidations regardless, but that rather than building new facilities, many of the older facilities would be utilized, possibly leading to overcrowding, in order to meet district needs.
