Wichita Public Schools hosting job fair for high school seniors
19 March 2024
VALLEY CENTER, Kan. (KSNW) – Voters in the Valley Center school district will consider a bond issue on May 7.
The last 10 years have brought significant growth in enrollment, and the superintendent says their percentage increase has gone up at a faster rate than other suburban area school districts.
“We’ve gone up about 500 students in the last 10 years. And so it’s been a number of things, it’s been housing developments being put in within the district, and we encompass north Wichita, Valley Center, Park City, and Kechi,” USD 262 Superintendent Greg Lehr said.
The $58.9 million bond would add a new elementary school, about 20 new classrooms to the high school, and changes in the grade levels at the elementary, intermediate and middle schools.
“If you look at the lunchrooms at lunch, the middle school here they have multiple passing periods here at the middle school because they can’t have all the kids in the hallway at once, there’s not enough room. So we have two different passing periods here so that kids can get to class on time,” Lehr said.
The district tried to pass a bond issue back in August, but it was narrowly rejected. If approved, the bond would not increase the current mill levy.
“We’d have K-4 elementary, and intermediate school would become 5th and 6th. We move 6th grade out of the middle school, they would go back to the intermediate. So 5th and 6th, middle school would be 7th and 8th,” Lehr said.
The district says if the bond passes, property taxes will not go up.