School bonds proposed in Mulvane and Derby

April 02, 2012|By Anne meyer | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — Mulvane Schools may look fine on the outside but district leaders know these building need major repairs.

“In regards to the heating and air, removing some asbestos that has to be gone, a lot of those issues that have needed to be done for some time,” said Shon Gerber of Mulvane. “But due to the situation with the economy have been kinda put off.”

That and more would be fixed under the district’s proposed $13.4 million bond, which is up for a vote May 8^th.

The new plan includes new classrooms, new storm shelters and a new track for the middle school.

Two years ago, Mulvane voted down a similar bond issue but supports say things have changed since then.

“Now is definitely the right time to be doing something like this,” says Gerber.

Mulvane isn't the only school district dealing with a bond issue, Derby voters go to the polls April 3rd for a more than $66 million bond request

The money will renovate the existing middle school, plus build a new one. Construction will eliminate over-crowing and address some constructional concerns.

“They have the original boilers, original wiring, and plumbing,” says Claudia Peebler of Derby schools. “We have teachers who have to put buckets in their classrooms to catch raindrops.”

If these bonds are voted down, Derby and Mulvane would lose out on state funding.

“We have the opportunity to get 21 percent of it paid by the state, that is something that the legislature is considering doing away with,” says Peebler.

That’s why districts are pushing for support now. It also helps that construction costs are low, as are interest rates.

“Ten years ago our mill level was higher than it will be after this bond issue passes,” says Peebler.

We’ll find out if voters agree in the coming months.

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