Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Bond topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
USD 352 presents $4 million Career & Tech Ed building proposal; board briefed on November sales-tax ballot plan
Summary
USD 352 presented options to replace or remodel a 50-year-old Career & Tech Ed facility, recommending a new $4 million building to be funded by a six-year bond and an extension of the district's quarter-cent sales tax on the November ballot; presenters said the plan would lower the property-tax mill levy compared with carrying the current bond to term.
Representatives of USD 352 told the Sherman County commissioners that a 50‑plus‑year old Career & Technical Education building has persistent electrical, ventilation, plumbing and ADA deficiencies and that the district is proposing a new $4 million facility to replace it.
Bill Beerman, presenting materials and data for the district, outlined two options the school board considered: a $2.7 million remodel and expansion of the existing shed-style building or construction of a new $4 million facility with larger, code-compliant classrooms and a dedicated STEM/maker space. The district recommends building new and will ask voters in November to approve a six‑year bond and a six‑year extension of the quarter‑cent sales tax tied to the current bond, which Beerman said would allow the district to secure bond interest rates and avoid higher lease-purchase interest costs.
Beerman said the district’s quarter‑cent sales tax has produced more revenue than originally forecast and that extending it would not be an additional rate—rather, it would replace the expiring bond-schedule revenues. "We're not raising taxes," Beerman said, adding the proposal would lower the mill levy charged for debt from 8.75 mills to about 3.3 mills for six years under the recommended plan. He also described several programmatic benefits, including improved ventilation for welding labs and space for robotics, broadcasting and STEM instruction.
Members of the public, including Joe Glass (who identified himself as a former chairman emeritus of the Kansas Technical Authority), endorsed the plan and urged voters to support technical-education investments that can keep local students and contractors working in the region.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about timing, contractor opportunities and whether existing district equipment would be reused. Beerman said construction could begin as early as March or April following a successful November vote and that the district had selected a construction-management-at-risk approach to encourage local subcontractor bids.
