If kids ruled the world…

…bond issue supporters could have gone to bed earlier last night. In USD 457’s Kansas Kids Voting election, held on Tuesday with at least a portion of the same ballot their grown-up counterparts used, Garden City students approved the district’s $97.5 million bond issue with a 772-350 vote.

Other results:

U.S. President:

• Democrat: Barack Obama/Joe Biden — 508
  
• Independent: Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez — 12
  
• Libertarian: Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root — 14
  
• Reform: Chuck Baldwin/Darrell L. Castle — 20
  
• Republican: John McCain/Sarah Palin — 533

Real-life winner: Obama/Biden

U.S. Senate:

• Republican: Pat Roberts — 420
  
• Democrat: Jim Slattery — 265
• Libertarian: Randall L. Hodgkinson — 64
  
• Reform: Joseph L. Martin — 77

Real-life winner: Pat Roberts

U.S. House – 1st District

• Republican: Jerry Moran — 396
  
• Democrat: James Bordonaro — 191
  
• Reform: Kathleen M. Burton — 161
  
• Libertarian: Jack Warner — 46

Real-life winner: Jerry Moran

County Commission – District 2

• Republican: Harold D. “Dave” Jones — 227
  
• Democrat: Cynthia Corn — 418

Real-life winner: Dave Jones

There were 1,087 ballots cast by kindergartners through 12th-graders.

Results: Bond issues around the state

Here’s what we know so far about other school districts’ bond issues in Kansas. I’ll update this as I learn more.

• Anthony-Harper USD 361
  • $8 million to renovate and remodel three schools (Question 1)
  • and to add a new auxiliary gym/FEMA storm shelter (Question 2)
• Baldwin City USD 348 – PASSED (Yes 2,087, No 1,775)
  • $22.9 million for a new primary center, new auditorium, new baseball/softball complex, new practice track and technology upgrades at all schools
• DeSoto USD 232 – PASSED (Yes 8,431, No 6,729)
  • $75 million to construct a new 600-student elementary school and expand two high schools
• Garden City USD 457 – PASSED (Yes 4,577 Yes, No 4,354)
  • $97.5 million for a new high school, conversion of high school to a middle school, conversion of a middle school to an elementary school and expansion of an elementary school into an early childhood center
• Herington USD 487
  • $29 million for additions to the middle and high school; a new elementary school, auditorium, gymnasium and track/football facility; remodeling and renovations at sports complex; and tornado shelters
• Holton USD 336
  • $21.3 million to construct a new elementary school and an agricultural education building at the high school, plus to repair an exterior wall at the high school
• Hugoton USD 210 – PASSED (Yes 1,278, No 529)
  • $21 million for renovations at the middle school, middle/high school cafeteria area and athletic facilities, plus a new early childhood center
• Leavenworth USD 453 – PASSED (62 percent of the vote)
  • $57.8 million for upgrades/expansions at two elementary schools and the high school, construction of a new elementary school and creation of a new activities complex on the high school campus
• Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 – PASSED (Yes 13,603 votes, No 6,206)
  • $97.5 million to renovate, remodel and repair 24 buildings in the district, and to add classrooms
• Marysville USD 364
  • $25 million for additions to elementary, junior/senior high school and stadium
• Olathe USD 233 – PASSED (59 percent of the vote)
  • $68 million to pay for additions and renovations at the district’s four high schools
• Sabetha USD 441
  • $8.3 million for expansions and improvements at high school and kindergarten-through-12th-grade facility
• Sterling USD 376
  • $20.4 million to expand and renovate high school and to replace grade school
• Wichita USD 259 – PASSED (Yes 56,155, No 54,538)
  • $370 million for six new schools and 275 new classrooms at other buildings

Atha: “It reaffirms my faith back in the community.”

Garden City voters narrowly passed a $97.5 million bond issue that will provide the district with a new high school, according to unofficial results from the Finney County Clerk’s Office.

Bond supporters cheered and hugged at the Educational Support Center to Board of Education President Mike Utz’s announcement that more than 51 percent of voters favored the issue. The vote count was 4,577-4,354, with provisional ballots yet to be counted.

The bond issue funds the board’s long range facility plan, which has been more than a year in the making. It was developed after talks of overcrowding at Garden City High School, where 14 teachers use carts instead of classrooms to hold their materials and where students take courses in 11 trailer classrooms.

It entails construction of a new, 2,000-student high school with room for expansion to house 2,500 students, conversion of the main Garden City High School building into a middle school, conversion of Abe Hubert Middle School into an elementary school and expansion of Garfield Elementary School into an early childhood center.

Superintendent Rick Atha said the results were “exciting,” because the bond issue offers “an opportunity for us to meet the educational needs of our kids for 20 to 25 years if we don’t have unexpected growth.”

“It reaffirms my faith back in the community,” Atha said of the vote. “If they get the information, they’ll step up to the plate.”