The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education voted 7–0 on Nov. 2025 to call a $389,000,000 general-obligation bond election, to be held by mail with ballots due March 3, 2026, and to move resident students from Westview Elementary to Rolling Ridge Elementary for the 2026–27 school year.

District financial presenter John Hutchison told the board the recommended package would pay for two new elementary schools to replace four “end of life” elementaries, a full replacement of Meadow Lane (the district’s oldest building), $55 million in high‑school updates, middle‑school locker‑room renovations and playground equity work, technology and radio replacements, security improvements and a roughly $70 million capital‑improvement program for HVAC and other projects. Hutchison said the full recommendation “would bring us to a recommendation of $389,000,000 bond issue.”

Hutchison explained the election is a mail‑ballot process and said the county would place two questions on the same ballot; his presentation said the county’s question would appear first and the district’s second. He summarized projected tax‑rate implications and said the board’s conservative accounting showed the district’s historical mill rate at about 14.3 mills; layering the proposed bond would shift that levy curve, with staff describing a multi‑year phase-in and an option to reduce the mill by up to one mill in an early year to buffer projections.

Board discussion cited community survey results and a preference for a shorter bond cadence (roughly the district’s historical five‑year pattern) rather than a single, larger issuance intended to avoid returning to voters. Board members asked whether the county shares election costs; staff confirmed the county does.

On boundary changes, the board approved a staff recommendation to move Westview resident students to Rolling Ridge beginning with the 2026–27 year. The board’s motion asked district staff to prioritize transition work at Rolling Ridge and to plan prework (facility and foundation improvements) before the move. Board member Julie Johan moved the boundary change; Miss Reagan seconded; the motion passed 7–0.

Votes at a glance — published motions and tallies recorded in the meeting
• Call bond election: motion by Brad Boyd, second by Miss Reagan; vote 7–0 (yes: Miss Steele, Miss Reagan, Mister Boyd, Miss Johan, Mister Kuhn, Mister Babbitt, Doctor Jurkovich).
• Boundary change (Westview → Rolling Ridge, 2026–27): motion by Julie Johan, second by Miss Reagan; vote 7–0.

What happens next
If the board’s action is certified, staff will file the required questionnaire with the State Board of Education, the county will prepare election materials and ballots are to be returned by March 3, 2026. If approved by voters, the district and staff expect multi‑year implementation planning and project sequencing for construction, building replacements and facility upgrades. Hutchison said staff will continue to refine costs and the capital‑improvement plan as projects move to design and procurement.