29 August 2023
VALLEY CENTER, Kan. (KSNW) — The preliminary results are in for the Valley Center school bond, and it appears the $73.9 million bond issue failed. The Sedgwick County Election Office posted the unofficial results shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Valley Center School Bond ElectionVotesPercentageYes1,98348%No2,15952%
The difference between the yes and no votes is 176 votes. The special election was by mail, and all the ballots had to be turned in by noon Tuesday.
The election office reports that of the 11,235 people registered to vote in the school district, only 4,154 voted. Twelve votes are not included in the total. There will be a vote canvass on Sept. 7 for the Board of County Canvass to review any uncounted ballots and finalize the election results.
Valley Center, USD 262, wanted voters to approve the bond issue so it could make room for its growing population. The district has 500 more students than it did 10 years ago. The school district planned to build a new elementary school, a pre-kindergarten facility, and an early childhood facility and add 20 classrooms to the high school and four classrooms to the intermediate school.
However, the bond would have raised property taxes by 2.5 mills. For the owner of a $100,000 home, that adds up to almost $29 extra a year.
KSN News will update this story if the outcome changes after the vote canvass.