By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
An $8.5 million bond question on the Nov. 5 ballot in Ellinwood may not fix all of USD 355's building problems, but it could be a nice holdover for the next 25 years. Superintendent Ben Jacobs said several larger projects have been in the works for five years. The time has finally arrived to put the matter to a vote.
"We try to repair buildings and do small projects out of capital outlay," he said. "Those projects are in the thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once you get into the millions of dollars, our capital outlay just can't support that anymore."
If approved, the $8.5 million bond would be financed for 15 years, though Jacobs said, based on previous bonds, that period could actually be shorter. The bond would fund three major building repairs, including new roofs atop the middle and high school and the elementary school library.
"We have a multitude of leaks we've been trying to address," Jacobs said. "That's probably the most significant part of this. We were actually dropped by our insurance provider at our renewal, which was July 1. They gave us about two weeks. They said we needed to do some repairs and we actually did those repairs and they still dropped us."
The bond would also fund the replacement of the windows and exterior doors at the elementary school. Jacobs said those windows are likely original to the building, which was built in the 1950s, and are inadequate for controlling the building's climate. The other major project to be covered by the bond is the HVAC replacement at the middle and high school.
"About every 20-25 years, you can expect to replace units and that's what we've been doing," said Jacobs. "We've had a couple shut down on us. We've hesitated replacing those because they weren't of great need. We had some contingencies that could cover that in the short term because we knew we were probably going for it with this."
A smaller project to be funded by the bond is enhanced security at the schools. Modifications at the grade school and middle and high school would ensure all visitors into the schools had to pass through the office area before entering the halls.
According to a taxpayer cost analysis completed by Piper Sandler, the median home value in Ellinwood is $95,000. To pay for the bond, the annual property tax increase for a home valued at $100,000 would be $224.25 for 15 years. Commercial property valued at $100,000 would see a $487.50 increase annually for that period.
"Obviously, no one wants to pay taxes," Jacobs said. "No one wants their taxes to increase. I think we all understand that truism. But, ultimately, there are times when, given other options and presented with alternatives, that's the best option you have. I think that's where we're at with it."
Voters will have the final say on Nov. 5. Some of those same voters comprised a facility committee that toured each of the district's buildings. The consensus was that much more than $8.5 million was needed to address all the issues. Jacobs said the repairs still need to be made, and a 'no' vote on Nov. 5 will end up costing taxpayers up to triple the proposed amount without the immediate benefits the bond could provide.
"The issue with that is we're not going to get all the repairs we need up front," he said. "There could be some insurance consequences there or some other consequences, and ultimately we're going to pay way more for it. Unless someone can convince me construction costs are going to go down over time, the longer we have to stretch this out, the more we're going to ultimately pay for the same project."
The new HVAC unit at Ellinwood High School carries a projected price tag of $4.8 million. The reroofs at the two buildings will cost $2.47 million, and the window and door replacement at the grade school will cost $1.05 million.
CLICK HERE to see USD 355's documents associated with the bond proposal, including answers to frequently asked questions.