The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (0) Comments
As good a time as any: Bond issues around the state
Published 10/22/2008 in News : Education
By EMILY BEHLMANN
Whether they're seeking to improve run-down or antiquated facilities or to deal with overcrowding, 14 Kansas school districts, including two in The Telegram's coverage area, will be asking voters for hundreds of millions of dollars on Election Day Nov. 4.
While some voters say it's a bad time for the bond issue elections -- the economy's rocky and construction costs are escalating rapidly -- some of the school district leaders say there's never a good time to increase taxes, so now is as good a time as any to put the questions on the ballot.
Proponents: Needed improvements
In some districts, bond issues are necessary simply to repair or renovate schools that are just too old and run-down to serve students well, according to information from the school districts.
That's a big part of the motivation behind the $21 million bond issue in Hugoton, with the largest chunk going toward replacement of a wing of the middle school that a citizens' committee says is in poor shape.
The Facilities Visioning Committee, a group that studied the USD 210 buildings earlier this year, said there are cracks in the wing's siding, which allow the elements to enter the building. It causes water buildup, which leads to wet carpets and mold, the group says.
Concerns with the conditions of current facilities also are driving Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 to seek voter approval on a $97.5 million bond issue, according to Associate Superintendent Bob Seymour.
He said that although about $30.7 million would go toward increasing building capacity with some new additions -- largely to make room for enrollment increases because of more families living at the Fort Riley military base -- $52.5 million would be dedicated to major renovations.
The district hired a consultant to analyze the districts' facilities about two years ago, and the district came up with about $140 million worth of improvements it deemed necessary, then trimmed it down to the $97.5 million bond issue, Seymour said.
"We knew we had buildings that had been maintained, but hadn't been renovated for a long time," he said, adding that a lot of the needs were things people couldn't see at first glance. "You don't think about the pipes behind the walls, the efficiency of our boilers, the window air conditioners at the elementary schools. This led us to take a comprehensive look."
A need to fix up old buildings also is driving Herrington USD 487 to put a $29 million bond issue before voters for additions to the middle and high school; a new elementary school, auditorium, gymnasium and track/football facility; remodeling and renovations at sports complex; and new tornado shelters.
According to the Web site of the Vision Committee, the citizens' group advocating for the issue, none of the district's schools are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and all are energy inefficient and have drainage problems.
More students than space
Unlike some superintendents elsewhere in the state, Garden City USD 457's Rick Atha has been telling listeners at recent bond issue informational forums that Garden City's school facilities are in good shape. But the board has placed a $97.5 million bond issue on the ballot following discussions of overcrowding at Garden City High School and some other buildings.
The issue would fund construction of a new, larger high school; conversion of the main GCHS building into a middle school; conversion of Abe Hubert Middle School into an elementary school; and expansion of Garfield Elementary School into an early childhood center.
Among other things, the projects would eliminate the need for mobile classrooms that sit outside several school buildings, and it would give each teacher a classroom instead of requiring some to push materials from room to room on carts, the district states.
Mobile classrooms and traveling teachers are concerns in some other Kansas districts, too, though some show enrollment increases USD 457 isn't seeing. Enrollment at USD 457 is down 36 students, though GCHS enrollment is up by 16 from last year.
Officials in both Wichita and Olathe said their districts' bond issues were spurred largely because of rapid growth in their communities.
In Wichita, a $370 million bond issue would add to the district six new schools, along with some other additions and improvements. The new schools would be primarily in the northeast and southeast areas of Wichita, which are seeing the greatest growth, district spokeswoman Susan Arensman said.
She said that because of enrollment increases in those areas, USD 259 had to install three portable classrooms last year, even though the district strived to eliminate all portable classrooms with a 2000 bond issue.
Olathe voters, too, passed a bond issue recently -- in 2007. But Linda Starrett, communications project manager, said the board had planned all along to split up building needs into two issues in two separate years.
The $138 million bond issue last year addressed "immediate needs" with some new buildings, and next month's $68 million issue would pay for additions and renovations at the district's four high schools, according to the district.
But it wouldn't just affect the high schools, Starrett said. Ninth grade would move to what are currently 10th-through-12th-grade high schools, and sixth grade would move from elementary to middle schools. That would alleviate crowding at elementary schools in a rapidly growing community, Starrett said.
Hugoton, too, is bracing for growth, though so far, student enrollment has been relatively steady, wavering between 1,000 and 1,100 for the past 15 or so years. Superintendent Mark Crawford said in a previous interview that the district anticipates an increase as a result of the Abengoa Bioenergy plant expected to build in town.
Why now?
Though district officials around the state maintain their bond projects are necessary, some say they've heard from their communities that now is not a good time to be asking taxpayers for more money.
"That's a natural response, and obviously it is a concern for everybody," Seymour said of concerns from residents in Manhattan-Ogden. "On the other hand, this is something, in our case, that needs to be done. ... Right now, contractors are interested in working and interest rates are reasonably low, so it's a good time to go forward."
Other districts, including Garden City and Hugoton, also have mentioned low interest rates when discussing their bond issues.
"The best time to borrow is when interest rates are low, and these are very near the lowest interest rates we've had in the last 40 years," Steve Shogren, a financial adviser with George K. Baum and Co., told Hugoton voters at a recent forum.
Fred Dierksen, superintendent at Sterling USD 376, expressed a similar view on his district's $20.4 million bond issue for renovations at Sterling High School and replacement of Sterling Grade School.
"This bond issue came about as a result of our needs, and regardless of the economy, our needs do exist, and this was the direction we felt at the time would be the best answer to our needs," he told the Hutchinson News.
For a full listing of Nov. 4 school district bond issues in Kansas, plus more information and a chance to contribute your thoughts on USD 457's bond issue, visit the "Up to the Minute"blog at http://gctbond.wordpress.com.
Found 0 comment(s)!
Twitter Updates
