The Wichita school board has approved a special election for a $450 million bond issue that would pay for a plan to significantly reshape the state’s largest school district — a plan filled with school closings, consolidations and new “right-sized” buildings as the district braces for shrinking future enrollment. The election will be held Feb. 25, 2025. If it passes, the bond issue would extend a 7.5 mill levy for 20 years, a similar rate to what property taxpayers pay now based on a bond issue that passed narrowly in 2008 and was set to expire in 2029. If it fails, homeowners would see an approximately 7.5 mill reduction to their property taxes by 2029. On a $200,000 house, 7.5 mills is $172.50 in annual property taxes. Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld has said the “newer and fewer” plan is necessary because the district has $1.2 billion in future deferred maintenance needs that it can’t afford. School board member Kathy Bond was the lone dissenting vote. She voted for the $450 million master plan at a previous meeting but has said she would rather find a funding source other than property taxes. Voters will decide in February whether to fund a plan that would close at least 10 schools; tear down and rebuild seven others; and convert two elementary schools to K-8 buildings. It also would build a new early childhood center, a new Future Ready Center for construction trades and outdoor athletic fields at Northeast Magnet.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
