Stronger security and a new school: Blue Valley asks JoCo voters for $186M bond issue
Voters will decide whether Blue Valley schools can issue $186 million in bonds to tighten security throughout the district and build a new elementary school — with no tax increase.
Residents of the south Johnson County district should have received mail-in ballots, which are due by noon Jan. 28. If approved, the funds will also allow the district to improve aging facilities and add classrooms to keep up with growing enrollment, said incoming superintendent Tonya Merrigan.
“If this bond were to not pass, we wouldn’t be able to do many of these things,” said Merrigan, who will take over as district superintendent in July, replacing retiring Superintendent Todd White. “There aren’t other sources of money for us to fix our buildings, so this is a crucial time for us to make sure we invest in buildings and infrastructure to provide the best education to our students.”
Officials said rising home values, as well as a larger tax base, will allow the district to maintain its mill levy of 62.803. But as always, homeowners who see an increase in assessed value will pay more in property taxes.
Like school districts across the nation, Blue Valley has already been spending money to fight back against the threat of mass shootings.
More than $11 million of the bond money would go toward safety improvements across the district. Merrigan said the largest project would include adding new locks on all classroom doors, so they can be locked from the inside.
“A lot of our classroom doors, the teacher has to go into the hallway, put a key in and turn it to lock the door. So that’s time. That’s more seconds spent vulnerable, depending on where the problem is in the building,” said Dan Carney, director of safety and security for the district. “So the new system will be just pull the door shut and lock it.”
Carney previously said the district matched a grant from the state of Kansas, allowing it to spend $840,000 to start updating locks earlier this school year. But another $6 million is needed to finish the work.
The bond issue would also include $24 million for the construction of a new elementary school in the expanding southwest portion of the district, at 182nd Terrace and Long Street, west of Quivira Road in Overland Park.
“Wolf Springs Elementary is our newest elementary school, and it’s continuing to grow and there are going to be too many students there,” Merrigan said of the school off 179th Street and Antioch Road. “So we know we need that new elementary school due to growth in that area.”
Existing schools would be updated with new technology and flexible classroom layouts. Career and technical programs would be expanded. And the district would build a $7 million addition at Blue Valley High School for new classrooms.
District leaders determined priorities for the bond issue after a year-long process, which included gaining feedback from residents, the school board and staff.
Blue Valley’s last bond election was in 2012, when voters approved $271 million in new spending.
If the new bond issue is approved, Merrigan said, the district expects to begin all of the projects within the next few years.
