Wellington School District Seeks $17.85M Bond for Facility Upgrades

WELLINGTON, Kan. — Wellington Public Schools will ask voters to approve a $17.85 million bond issue in a special election Tuesday, with officials emphasizing the measure would not raise property taxes.

The bond proposal represents the district's second attempt at securing funding for facilities improvements after voters narrowly rejected a similar measure in November.

District officials said the new initiative maintains a 21-mill levy rate through local property owner growth and increased assessed valuations, meaning no additional tax burden for residents. The bond would be repaid over a projected 20-year period through existing tax revenues and a supplemented debt service fund from state aid.

"Key Reductions and Financial Strategy" documents provided by the district outline how the plan minimizes impact on local taxpayers while addressing immediate facility needs.

The proposal includes several cost-saving measures compared to the previous version. Officials reduced the number of districtwide buildings from eight to six, cutting the project scope at Eisenhower and Kennedy elementary schools from a complete tear-out to a less extensive rehab and two-unit parallel construction.

The district also eliminated new furniture purchases and reduced theater seating, roofing and window work at Washington Elementary and Sumner County Academy. Restrooms at the Old School Football Field were removed from the revised plan.

"Focus on Critical Infrastructure" documents emphasize that district officials determined only necessary projects remained in the streamlined proposal.

The bond would fund aging systems upgrades and ADA accessibility improvements at Eisenhower and Kennedy elementary schools, including two new chillers at the high school. Additional projects include window and envelope work at multiple buildings, athletic facility upgrades at the District Track Facility, and accessibility improvements throughout the district.

Remodeling projects would address the old agriculture shop building at the Middle School.

Officials stressed that without bond funding, the district would face reduced resources for capital projects and a depleted Capital Outlay fund. The district generates 8 mills in Capital Outlay funds and associated state aid, which officials said would only cover financing for a portion of deferred maintenance.

Superintendent Hatfield warned that delaying repairs would lead to higher costs due to inflation and potentially disruptive emergency repairs. He said the detailed bond plan, available on the USD 353 website, includes extensive information about project scope and cost estimates.

The board approved the new bond proposal by local property taxes, with the only increase coming through the passage of a statewide mill levy for schools.

Polls will be open Tuesday for the special election.