KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
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Gardner Edgerton School District taxpayers will vote on a $100 million bond this week.
The district said the bond would address growing needs and improve schools across the board. However, this comes at a cost to taxpayers and Sunflower Elementary families.
If the bond passes, the district will close the school to convert the building into an early childhood education center.
USD 231 parent and bond committee member Caelee Lehman supports the bond.
“We have the chance to give our students another step forward, whether that's better early childhood education resources, whether that's getting students out of overcrowded classrooms into a new elementary school so that they can have a better education experience, or even at the high school,” Lehman said.
Some parents against the bond worry about losing Sunflower Elementary School. Parent Katie Young voiced her concern on Facebook.
“One of the main reasons we bought our house was so our kids could walk/bike ride to school,” Young said. “We are literally right behind Sunflower, and this would affect my daughter.”
Other big-ticket items the bond would fund include a new elementary school, a new district service center, and updated classrooms, playgrounds and security.
The district said the bond would also improve special education at all schools by providing equitable access to learning tools and inclusive playgrounds for all students.
Lehman has a child in special education and explained there are gaps in what the district can offer now.
“There are resources that those parents wish their students had that would make their students' lives better, that would make them more successful, and right now, we're a small district who just doesn't always have access to the resources that we need for that,” Lehman said.
If the bond passes, the district said it won’t raise taxes. Instead, it will replace some of the money that was already being used to pay off older bonds that had run out.
If the bond doesn’t pass, the district will take another look at the projects in the bond plan and figure out which projects can be done without immediate bond money. Officials may also take a look at school boundaries to address overcrowding, potentially proposing a new bond in a year or two.
To vote on the bond, taxpayers in the district received a ballot in the mail. It’s important to get that to a Johnson County ballot drop box by noon on Tuesday, April 1.
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