SchoolsTuesday, October 27
School closures are shaping how some Wichita neighbors will vote on the $615 million bond
The Daily Wichita team
If you're voting on the Wichita school district's $615 million bond Nov. 3, early voting is already underway in Sedgwick County. Some neighbors plan to vote no because the district is closing four elementary schools: L'Ouverture, OK, Pleasant Valley and Woodland.
$615 millionproposed Wichita school bond on the Nov. 3 ballot
Voters will decide a two-question bond issue.
Sources: KMUW, Wichita Eagle
The district cites aging buildings and low enrollment. “We’re in a different era in our community where there’s not a need for that many schools,” Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld told KMUW. Some OK Elementary parents say a no vote would send the board a message.
- Passing both questions could upgrade more than 15 facilities
- OK Elementary would become an early childhood center if it passes
- L'Ouverture closes this school year whether or not it passes
- Backers: Wichita Regional Chamber, United Teachers of Wichita, League of Women Voters
The Wichita Eagle reports the Chamber's board backs the bond while flagging property tax worries, and the Chamber says it hasn't given money to the Vote Yes Yes campaign. NAACP vice president Lavonta Williams says she'll support the bond but is disappointed it leaves the former Mathewson site without an early childhood center.
Wichita voters decide Nov. 3 on a bond after a 2025 rejection
- 2008A bond pays for renovations at OK Elementary.
- 2025Voters reject a school bond by a thin margin.
- Nov. 3Voters decide whether to approve the $615 million bond.
- End of school yearL'Ouverture is set to close at the school year's end, regardless of the bond result.
Source: KMUW
Sources: KMUW, Wichita Eagle