FACT
CHECK - Frequently Asked Questions
Submit your questions here. Common questions will be posted to this site.
Why are some of our schools overcrowded when enrollment is relatively stable?
Overall the district’s enrollment for the past couple of years has been stable, however there are two significant trends that have led to the current concern. First, growth in certain areas in the city, especially the northeast and southeast areas, has led to major over-crowding in elementary, middle and high schools in these areas. Second, the district has made a significant commitment to class size reduction, focusing a large percentage of its operating budget on investments that support increased student achievement and a lower student-to-teacher ratio. These two factors combined have led to urgent situations at schools like Heights High in northeast Wichita, which currently has 16 teachers working off of utility carts because they don’t have a permanent classroom; and Stucky Middle School, also in the northeast, which was constructed five years ago, has been expanded once, and was immediately at or beyond capacity when the expansion opened; and Seltzer Elementary in southeast Wichita, growing by about 70 new students per year, where the district had to install three portable buildings to handle all the students.
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Are your schools at capacity?
It is a FACT that capacity figures do not reflect the Board of Education’s commitment to reduced class sizes. If the district were to be at 100% capacity district-wide, class sizes would be unacceptably high. This is exactly what is occurring in geographic areas of Wichita being targeted for new buildings in the 2008 bond issue (northeast and southeast areas).
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Can’t you just change boundaries to fix overcrowding?
Overcrowding at the schools with the most urgent need can’t simply be addressed by changing neighborhood boundaries. There are several schools in the district where limited classroom space exists, but they are not in the same part of the city as those schools which are overcrowded. Forced busing would need to be implemented to shift student enrollment, transportation costs would increase, and boundaries for schools all across Wichita would need to be changed due to the relationship between elementary and middle schools flowing into high school feeder patterns. Rather than take a short-term view of the challenge, the district intends to undertake a significant boundary review process at such time as new high schools are under construction. This will need to be done to establish new high school feeder patterns, and will provide a meaningful long-term solution.
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Why can't you use exisiting vacant buildings instead of building new schools?
Existing vacant buildings are not a viable option. The Wichita Public Schools owns six buildings which are not currently being used for classroom activities. These buildings were closed because they were too small, too old and too expensive to maintain. Were the district to renovate these buildings as well as other improvements to meet the needs of district students, the renovations would be more costly than the construction of new, more efficient facilities. The FACT is that this is the most cost-inefficient solution that the district could possibly consider.
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What will the money be spent on?
The majority of the facility improvements in the $350 million bond issue would relieve overcrowded schools, reduce class sizes, accommodate special programs and support the end to busing for desegregation in the district. This includes constructing 6 brand new schools in our district, and rebuilding two others. The bond plan also constructs 60 safe room storm shelters in schools across the district. About one-third of the plan will support fine arts, physical education and athletic facility improvements. Additionally, if the bond issue is accepted by Wichita voters more than $150 million in facility improvements outlined in the 2008 Facility Master Plan will be funded with capital dollars, designated specifically for construction and maintenance.
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Can other funds be used to make these improvements?
The district’s Capital Outlay fund is utilized for ongoing needs as well as unfunded state and federal mandates. To use available capital funds for a list of this magnitude would require literally decades to complete. Bond issue funding is the manner in which Kansas school districts typically fund facility improvements. Since Wichita’s last bond issue in 2000, 112 bond issues valued at more than $2.5 billion dollars have been passed by voters in Kansas, including 10 in the Wichita area valued at $325.8 million.
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How will the bond issue bring more than $350 million to the Wichita Public Schools?
The bond issue will maximize the community's investment. It is a FACT that the bond issue triggers additional funding available to support our schools, on top of the bond issue funds.
- $171 million in capital outlay – will be used to support facility improvements that are not in the bond issue plan. The money is already in the district’s budget. However, if the bond issue isn’t approved, the projects currently slated to be funded out of capital will likely not occur since that money would need to be redirected to more critical needs.
- $15 million in FEMA grants – that would go towards “hardening” of spaces to be used as of safe rooms.
- State would pay 25% - Under Kansas law, Wichita taxpayers contribute tax dollars each year to help school districts throughout the state build and remodel their schools. Each year, Wichita tax dollars have been used by districts across the state to renovate and expand facilities. The bond issue plan will allow Wichitans to benefit, as the state will pay 25 percent of the total cost— $87.5 million plus corresponding interest.
- $40 million (est.) in new facilities weighting – The state provides additional funding for two years to support districts which construct new spaces in the form of new facilities weighting. As a result of the 2000 bond issue, our district received approximately $33 million from this resource. It is estimated that the 2008 bond issue will provide $40 million in additional funding.
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Why not a sales tax?
By state law, school districts do not have the authority to levy a sales tax. Cities and counties can levy a sales tax for “special purposes”. If the City of Wichita chose to levy a sales tax to support schools, the revenue collected would likely be divided up among the five school districts that have some portion of their boundary falling within the city limits.
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Will salaries be paid for with the bond issue?
Absolutely not. The money from the bond issue proposal can only be used for facility improvements. No staff salaries can be, nor will be, paid for through the bond issue.
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Why doesn’t the district use the new money it has received from the state to address these needs?
That money could not be used towards facility upgrades. The additional funding received from the state over the last three years has been focused on increase student achievement. Focus areas included class-size reduction, classroom instruction and instructional support and high school reform initiatives.
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The bond plan includes 60 safe room storm shelters. How much is the total cost for safe rooms?
The bond issue will support the construction of 60 safe rooms. The safe rooms will be built as multipurpose rooms, classroom suites, or libraries. In order to receive funding from FEMA for safe room construction, school districts must use their own funds for basic construction. FEMA then provides funds to reinforce that area to meet FEMA tornado-safe standards. The cost of construction for the safe rooms to the district is $60 million, while FEMA pays $15 million to harden the safe rooms. The total cost is $75 million. It is also a FACT that many of the new fine arts and physical education spaces in the 2008 bond issue will be reinforced as FEMA safe room storm shelters.
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Why is part of this bond issue devoted to athletics and arts? Do those things really impact student achievement?
It is a FACT that LESS THAN ONE-THIRD of the facility improvements in the bond issue plan are for fine arts, physical education and athletic facilities. Research has shown that student involvement in arts and athletics activities is directly linked to higher academic performance, stronger school connections, higher graduation rates and fewer discipline problems. Construction will support critical classroom activities and opportunities to connect students to their schools, and will provide safe environments for these core student activities. All students are required to have fine arts and physical education credits to graduate from high school, so improvements will impact every one of Wichita’s high school students. Additionally, both fine arts and athletic facilities have multiple uses. Improvements will significantly expand the number of students who are able to use state-of-the-art facilities for practice, performance and competition; will provide every high school with a space in which they can gather all of their students at once; and will enhance the opportunity for non-district groups to rent these facilities for community events.
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If the bond issue passes, what would the first priority be?
The district must first create an overall construction schedule for all bond projects in order to look at phasing of work and the ability to “package” certain types of construction in order to receive better pricing. This schedule would also determine timing of the sale of bonds to fund the work.
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