Is it the economy, stupid?

The headlines have been ugly lately whenever a story touches on the economy. What does that mean for bond issues, or any other measure that would increase taxes?

A Sept. 7 story in the Wichita Eagle indicated a gloomy outlook for a school bond issue there. The headline? “Economy could be a hurdle for Wichita bond issue.”

Wichita’s bond plan, the state’s largest [$370 million], would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $42.55 more in property taxes annually, includes $137 million for new schools. But bond supporters and opponents have both focused the discussion on $61 million proposed for athletic upgrades and $17 million added last month for technical education.

And that was before this happened. (Stocks are starting to rally, but still no plan for how to handle the situation).

Will the current economic situation affect your vote on USD 457’s bond issue? I’ll be working on a story about this and would appreciate voter comments.

BACKGROUND: Here’s the tax impact of the proposed bond issue for residential, commercial and agricultural properties.

UPDATE: Here’s what the school district has to say in its informational brochure about the economy issue:

Q: Why is the school board addressing these improvements now with the current economic conditions?

A: There are several reasons. The primary reason is our current facilities do not meet the academic needs of our students. With respect to the economy, interest rates for municipal bonds are near record lows, but heading upward. Putting off these improvements will cost taxpayers more in the future. The school board is committed to sound economic practices, and these improvements must happen at some point. In addition, under the current school finance formula, the State of Kansas will pay 37 percent of the principal and interest on the bonds.

Welcome

Welcome to “Up to the minute,” the Garden City Telegram’s blog for tracking developments in the USD 457 bond issue, set to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. This will be an open notebook to give readers an inside look at the latest developments in the bond issue campaign before they make it to the newspaper.

The $97.5 million bond issue would cover the following:

• Construction of a new, 2,000-student Garden City High School (with room for expansion to fit 2,250) on 92 acres of land north of Mary Street and east of Campus Drive, inside the U.S. Highway 50/400 Bypass.
• Conversion of the main GCHS building into a middle school.
• Conversion of GCHS’s J.D. Adams Hall into an alternative high school, with other functions also likely.
• Conversion of Abe Hubert Middle School into an elementary school.
• Expansion of Garfield Elementary School into a centralized early childhood center.

This and other upcoming Telegram blogs are intended to be sources of information, but also forums for community dialogue. It will be our job to keep you up to date on the bond issue and campaign, but we ask that you also help by submitting your comments and questions. I’ll occassionally ask you questions, and I’ll try to find the answers to yours so that there’s generally more information available. I look forward to hearing from you!

Emily Behlmann

Web Editor/Education Reporter

Sticker shock

In these uncertain economic times, how is a school board to know it will be able to complete a project for the budgeted amount? How can one avoid a situation like the one in Hutchinson, where bond issue projects came in 23 percent over budget? Or even the one in Copeland, where a project to rebuild most of the junior high school came in about $400,000 over budget?

Kansas’ new construction management at-risk option (legislation here) could provide an answer. Under the program, a construction manager assumes the risk of the project going over budget, so it’s in his best interest to seek the lowest bids from contractors. There’s a good chance a big construction management firm will have greater pull when it comes to encouraging contractors to bid, and that generally means lower-cost services.

Hutchinson is now taking a look. There has been discussion of the concept in USD 457, too, though the board hasn’t yet begun the formal process of hiring a construction manager.

UPDATE: The Hutchinson board has chosen four construction management firms (out of nine that were interested) to advance in the process. (via Hutchinson News)