The superintendent of Wichita Public Schools says the district is planning its immediate next steps after voters on Tuesday approved a $615 million bond issue.
The bond issue will fund heating and air conditioning improvements across the district, career and technical education programs, some new facilities, multiple rebuilds of schools, and maintenance work at others. It’s the district’s first successful bond issue since 2008.
Voters approved both questions in the two-part bond issue, with nearly 62% approval on the first question and about 60% on the second.
At a press conference at Truesdell Middle School on Wednesday, Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld thanked voters for their support of the bond.
“This support reflects a shared commitment from our community for effective learning spaces, safe learning spaces and innovation in our schools,” he said. “This will impact students for generations to come.”
A $104 million rebuild of Truesdell is among the projects in the bond issue. The school in south Wichita is the district’s most attended middle school, and the building has a number of persistent structural issues.
Bielefeld said the district aims to rebuild Truesdell and other schools in a way that is minimally disruptive to students.
“Our hope would be that we are able to build new buildings in those spaces somewhere different than the current building,” he said. “So, for instance, on this campus here at Truesdell, we have enough green space that we could build a new [school] while kids are attending school here and then demolish the old one once the new one is built.”
Bielefeld said district staff have been working on a timeline for each project listed in the bond proposal, which he said should be finalized early next semester.
“With the two questions, there [were] lots of different options that could have come through yesterday, so now that we know, we will be able to put that together pretty clearly,” he said.
The superintendent said some moves as part of the bond issue could happen as soon as summer 2027, like the district’s plans to relocate Horace Mann K-8 Dual Language Magnet to the former Hadley Middle School building.
The superintendent has formed a bond oversight committee to advise the district on the bond issue. That committee includes board members, district staff, parents and other community members.
According to the district’s bond website, the committee “offers input on major scope, schedule, budget, risk and engagement issues while district leadership manages implementation.”
Bielefeld also acknowledged concerns from those who opposed the bond, including criticisms about the cost of the bond, student test scores and community trust.
“These are opportunities for Wichita Public Schools and ways that we can continue to work better for our kids and our community,” he said. “Our critics only make us better.”
Bielefeld said the district will share regular updates on bond projects online, at Wichita school board meetings and at news conferences.
The district is also working out the details of two potential land swaps with the City of Wichita, with plans of putting two rebuilt schools on existing park land.
If the land swaps go through, the district would rebuild Adams Elementary School at Claude Lamb Park in northeast Wichita and McLean Elementary School at Columbine Park in northwest Wichita.
Bonds are expected to be issued starting in 2027.
