Wichita teachers, volunteers and others on Saturday filled the Wave event venue in downtown Wichita to kick off a campaign in support of the upcoming bond referendum.
Wichita Public Schools will ask voters in November whether to approve up to $615 million in bonds.
Those bonds would fund projects like improvements to heating and air conditioning across the district, rebuilds at several elementary and middle schools, preservation work at the district’s high schools and a new “FutureReady” center for trades.
The referendum is split into two ballot questions, with the second question contingent on the first one passing.
Supporters of the bond proposal are behind a campaign called “Vote Yes Yes 4 Wichita Kids” — one “yes” for each of the two ballot questions.
Diane Albert is a Republican who was elected to the Wichita Board of Education in 2021. At Saturday’s rally, she said she probably wouldn’t have supported a school bond issue five years ago.
“What changed my mind were facts,” she said. “Facts about how school finance operates, about how the budget operates, about the constraints that school districts face.”
During her presentation, she highlighted some of those facts in the discussion around school bonds. That includes the fact that other governing bodies routinely issue bonds to pay for large projects, without ever having to ask voters for approval.
She also highlighted that, while the district has about a $1 billion budget, much of that money is restricted to specific expenses and can’t be used for many of the projects outlined in the bond proposal.
“I did not change my conservative values to support the school bond issue. I applied my values and looked at them through a lens of facts and reality,” she said. “And that's how, as a conservative, I can support the school bond issue because it's going to move our district forward and it's going to serve our community well for generations to come.”
Speakers at the rally also highlighted the fact that most of the suburban school districts surrounding Wichita have passed bond issues in the 18 years since USD 259’s last successful bond.
The district’s latest attempt to pass a bond, in February 2025, failed by a slim margin. District staff and “Vote Yes Yes” volunteers are hoping that efforts to engage the public ahead of the vote will pay off.
Luis Rodriguez, president of the “Vote Yes Yes” committee, described himself as a product of Wichita Public Schools. He attended Cloud Elementary, Pleasant Valley Junior High and North High.
“Every one of [those buildings] was already standing, waiting for me before I was born,” he said. “Because Wichitans I never am able to thank looked at a child who they'd never meet, in a family that could never pay them back, and decided that child was worth it.”
Wichita City Council member Joseph Shepard, a Democrat, also spoke in support of the bond on Saturday. He said businesses who are interested in Wichita always ask about the quality of the school district.
“Why? Because they're recruiting individuals who have children, who are wanting to make sure that when they decide to take a job somewhere that they are giving their child the best shot and shake at a quality education,” he said.
Those attending the rally also had lunch and received training on how to volunteer for the campaign. At the end of the event, volunteers dispersed into the community to canvass on the bond issue.
Shepard said the fight to pass the bond issue would be decided at “the doors.”
“You’ve got to get [to] those doors. You’ve got to have those tough conversations with your neighbors,” he told those at the rally.
It’s not yet clear if there will be a formal campaign to oppose the bond, but some local Republicans have voiced their opposition on social media.
If only the first question passes, district staff say it would have no effect on property taxes. But critics point to the fact that taxes stemming from the 2008 bond are set to fall off soon, which they say still amounts to a tax increase.
If both questions pass, the district says it would increase property taxes for a $200,000 home by about $50 per year.
Rodriguez, president of the “Vote Yes Yes” committee, acknowledged concerns about the potential cost of a bond issue to property owners, saying it would be wrong to dismiss them.
“They are people asking good questions, wanting good outcomes, showing up in their own community, and paying attention to what it does with their money,” he said.
He described Wichita as a city that takes pride in “making do” with limited resources.
“And I realized Wichita didn't wait 18 years (for a bond) because they stopped loving our kids,” he said. “We waited because Wichita has always been the city that says, ‘We'll manage,’ … and we did, through recession, through (a) pandemic.”
“We’ve managed longer than anybody, and we've managed long enough.”
