In the past couple of years, the Shawnee Mission school district has torn down five grade schools and constructed six new ones. Now officials are eyeing which ones to rebuild next.
In Johnson County, it’s an issue that doesn’t come up as much in the newer school districts to the south and west, where buildings are generally decades younger than the half-century-old schools that were recently demolished across Shawnee Mission. Districts such as Blue Valley and Olathe are either constructing brand new schools are updating and refreshing existing buildings.
But in Shawnee Mission, it’s simply more cost effective to knock down the aging, problematic buildings and replace them with bright, modern schools, complete with flexible classrooms and the latest technology, said district spokesman David Smith. Voters in 2015 approved a $233 million bond issue to help pay for the six new buildings.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)