District presents facility-assessment findings; high school renewal and Eisenhower conversion emerge as top options

McPherson Unified School District officials and consultants presented results from the district’s facility-assessment outreach and said early preferences among respondents favor renewing the high school (or, in some public responses, building a new facility) and repurposing Eisenhower Elementary as a middle school.

Mr. Cash, the consultant leading the assessment, told the board the engagement produced nearly 1,200 written responses across questions and that common themes included safety and security, infrastructure and maintenance, modernized learning spaces and pressure to reduce the number of elementary buildings. ‘‘When we talk about safety and security, it’s more than just a secure entrance,’’ he said, adding that respondents repeatedly mentioned improved HVAC, roofing and secure entries as ‘‘must-have’’ needs.

Nut graf: The session converted broad community input into planning scenarios and cost ranges: district and consultant estimates placed a comprehensive high-school renewal at roughly $50 million–$62 million, converting Eisenhower to a middle school at $20 million–$28 million, and elementary consolidation or upgrades in the $18 million–$22 million range, pending detailed design and exact scope. Staff proposed bringing 2–4 refined plan options back to the community in October to gauge support and determine whether a bond measure could be viable in the spring.

What staff presented and public input

Consultants summarized the outreach: two community meetings (one at a community building and one at the high school) and a largely open survey that produced about 1,200 verbatim comments. Mr. Cash said the district used a head-to-head question format in some survey sections to force tradeoffs; the head-to-head results increased clarity about what options the community would prioritize when faced with limited budgets.

Key quantitative takeaways the consultants presented include: - Rough cost ranges: renew/renovate current high school $50–62 million; convert Eisenhower to a middle school $20–28 million; consolidating elementary buildings and putting storm shelters/secure entries on remaining schools $18–22 million. - Facility preferences: respondents prioritized secondary-school investments; new high school and new middle school each appeared in many open responses, but when pitted head-to-head respondents often selected renovating the high school and repurposing Eisenhower as a middle school. - Readiness to fund: across the survey, 74% of respondents said they would support an increased bond ‘‘if the plan is right’’; 24% preferred no tax increase; 2% opposed any bond.

Board discussion and points of emphasis

Board members and staff discussed multiple planning permutations: renewing the existing high school with an east-side academic addition (tied to long-term mitigation for the roundhouse), building a new high school on a new site, or a phased approach that tackles urgent safety and infrastructure work first while preserving options for larger projects later.

Several board members urged the team to prepare 2–4 concrete package options with defined costs and projected tax impacts, to be vetted at upcoming community meetings; staff agreed to present those options at the next committee/community session. Board members also asked the district to quantify likely operational savings from closing or repurposing buildings (custodial, utilities, maintenance and staffing) and to show how those savings could offset capital costs.

Administrative steps and next meetings

Staff and consultants said they will tighten the options and provide clearer cost-to-tax impacts for each scenario. The district plans additional public meetings; the next community session is scheduled for Oct. 20 (as of the presentation) and the board set an internal timeline to have refined options to discuss in late October and November. Staff also recommended involving bond counsel and financial advisors (Piper Sandler and others were referenced) before finalizing any plan and determining an election calendar.

Clarifying details

- Outreach: about 1,200 written responses across survey questions; 115 attendees at the two principal meetings who responded in-session. - Cost ranges presented by consultants: high-school renewal $50–$62 million; Eisenhower-to-middle-school $20–$28 million; elementary consolidation/secure-entrance program $18–$22 million; new high-school per-square-foot and site-development costs were discussed and will be refined. - Themes: top priorities were safety and security, maintenance/infrastructure, modern learning spaces, and secondary-school investment.

Ending: Consultants and staff recommended the board approve a short list of plan options to be refined, costed and shared widely before any decision on a bond; the board asked staff to return with operational-savings estimates and tax-impact scenarios to help voters evaluate trade-offs.

Speakers

- Mr. Cash — Consultant (facility assessment lead) - Dr. Vincent — Staff member (introduced consultant) - Shiloh — Superintendent - Chelsea — Board member - Rebecca — Board member - Bill — Board member - Perry — Board member

Authorities

- type: "code" name: "ICC 500 (storm shelter standard)" referenced_by:["facility-assessment-and-long-range-plan"]

Actions

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discussion_decision:{"discussion_points":["Community input shows highest demand for secondary-school investment and safety/security upgrades","Cost ranges presented require further refinement for bond readiness","Operational savings from school closures/repurposing need quantification"],"directions":["Staff/consultants to produce 2–4 refined plan options with clear cost and tax-impact estimates for October community meetings","Prepare operational-savings analysis and coordinate with bond counsel and financial advisor"],"decisions":[]}

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