The Maize school district plans to add new learning space to address its rapidly growing student population.
Officials report that schools are at least 89 percent full districtwide.
“Just the overall growth is pushing capacity at our elementary schools right now,” said Chad Higgins, superintendent of Maize schools. “We think they’re at about 91 percent capacity.”
Despite recent expansion projects at the middle and high schools, Maize could begin constructing two new buildings this fall. But first, its needs to finance them.
“If it’s a bond issue we’re seeking, we have to put that in front of voters … hopefully by September,” Higgins said. “It still takes at least 18 months to draw up the plans and our process of opening a school building.”
Higgins said a facility planning committee hopes to submit a new bond application to the state before the 2019 deadline.
“We’re looking at expediting things this semester, to get a proposal to the state school board by July 1, so we can open new school buildings by August of 2021,” Higgins said.
Because of the statewide bond cap, the proposed request must be approved before Maize can move ahead with a building plan.
“It’s just difficult when you’re growing so fast and you’re running out of room in your schools, the options are either you ask your patrons to support and fund new school buildings, or we figure a plan to add temporary facilities,” Higgins said.
Either way, the district must create space and hire staff to handle the student population. Higgins said the number of new educators it needs to hire next year will cost about $ 1 million.
Higgins said he sees a potential solution for the overcrowding by redistributing students and building spaces to split up middle schoolers, breaking up fifth and sixth graders and seventh and eighth graders into separate locations. Higgins said that’s an option the district is examaning.
Audrey Korte is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.