As the Great Bend school district gets closer to pitching a bond issue to the voters, many voters are wondering how much this is going to cost. If you view the 96-page presentation at usd428.net, you will see a financial impact between $90 million and $145 million. The exact final number that SJCF Architecture will present to the USD 428 Board of Education will be determined soon after one last steering committee meeting on December 20.
The school district hired SJCF at the beginning of the year to create a long-term master plan for the district’s facilities.
Terry Wiggers, Executive Vice President at SJCF, says the steering committee will need to narrow down the options of improvements for the final proposal.
Terry Wiggers Audio
Because of the price tag, Wiggers anticipated the master plan of improvements to be stretched out over a 20-year period. USD 428 paid off all their debt in September 2018.
According to SJCF’s presentation, the Great Bend school district has a mill levy of 45.93. The same study showed Hoisington’s school district with a mill levy of 50.81, Ellinwood at 60.40, Hays at 43.56, and Dodge City at 57.24.
Wiggers says a potential bond of this size would include renovations to buildings to add space and improve security.
Terry Wiggers Audio
Creating storm shelters, securing entrances to buildings, making space at the elementary schools for preschool, and switching 6th graders to the middle school with additions at Great Bend Middle School, are the main focuses from the steering committee. With an enrollment of more than 2,900 district wide, all of USD 428’s school buildings were built in the 1950s.
SJCF will present the master plan to the school board on January 14. If approved, the bond issue will go to the voters at the upcoming election.