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Frequently Asked Questions
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I heard that all district school buildings were designed to have additions? Why don't we just add on instead of build new?
The district has not had plans to add on to Spring Hill Elementary School and the other three elementary schools have not been planned for additions beyond their current 528 student capacity.
Spring Hill Middle School North was proposed for expansion when it was the district high school, but the community voted against that proposal twice, which resulted in the building of our current high school, which was expanded to the final planned capacity this past year.
In response to the last three community bond committees, it has been the goal of the Board of Education and District Administration to maintain smaller community schools; keeping elementary schools below 600 students and middle schools below 700 students. This creates an ideal learning environment for all of our students and reduces possible scheduling, congestion, and safety issues in and around these schools.
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How will the new bond affect the total mill levy?
The school district has decreased the mill levy over the last 11 years (including this year). This bond would be an increase of 4.25 mills or approximately $8.15/month for a $200,000 home beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
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How much of this bond will the State of Kansas pay for?
The State of Kansas would currently fund 24% of the proposed solution.
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I live in Olathe do my taxes go to Spring Hill schools?
Yes, all residents who live within the USD 230 boundaries, regardless of which city or county, pay taxes that benefit Spring Hill School District students.
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If our house value is less than 200K, what will we be paying, and will we be in the vote?
Home value - Estimated payment/month
- $200,000 - $8.15
- $150,000 - $6.12
- $100,000 - $4.08
- $50,000 - $2.04
All registered voters living in the Spring Hill School District will be eligible to vote in this election. Patrons must be registered to vote by August 7 to receive a ballot by mail or register in person by August 16 to pick up a ballot. Please check your registration status HERE.
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How many bond levy tax increases can a district/city have in place occurring at the same time?
Each bond issue is treated independently. It is possible for the district and/or the city to have multiple bond issues in place at the same time.
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How many bonds are in effect currently for the school district?
There are three outstanding bond issues at this time. The December 2003 election allowed for the construction of the current high school and Prairie Creek Elementary School. They were 20 year bonds and will be paid off in September 2024. The second election was June 2011 and those will be paid in full September 2031. The third election was September 2016 and those will be paid in full in September 2037.
Through refinancing of bonds we have been able to save the district 4.8 million dollars over the last ten years.
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How many years will the levy be in place increasing the RE tax?
The repayment period on the bonds will be 20 years.
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What exactly is the Educational Support Center?
The staff, equipment and supplies associated with the technology, maintenance and grounds, and nutrition services departments will move from their current locations to this centralized building. The Educational Support Center will have shops, labs, a kitchen and training spaces. Most of the facility will be available to schedule as education space for teachers to bring students for hands-on career and technical education and other related activities.
The building will provide:
- Opportunities for staff and students to pilot and evaluate new technology
- Training areas for departmental staff and Career and Technical Education classes
- Opportunities for staff and students to prepare and evaluate new foods and food preparation techniques
- Areas for storage, equipment assembly or repair, and product demonstrations
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Where will the new elementary and new middle school be located?
Currently, the district has a firm searching for “construction ready” sites for future projects. These sites need to have readily available access to roads and utilities, proximity to fiber-optic network, as well as a manageable cost for site preparation.
It is important to the district that future schools are easily accessed by our families. We strive to minimize the need for:
- Students to be bused long distances,
- Disruptive boundary changes,
- Overcrowded schools.
These new schools are needed to address the growth in the district and will need to be located accordingly.
The district also has a fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers to obtain reasonably priced land that does not require excessive site preparation.
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How full will Woodland Spring Middle School be when the proposed middle school opens?
Woodland Spring Middle School is projected to be at 429 of 528 students when the new middle school opens. Spring Hill Middle School is projected to be over capacity.
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We just passed a bond two years ago, why do we need another one?
During the last bond process in 2016, we heard from a majority of voters that you preferred smaller, more frequent bond issues. We’ve honored that preference and are now presenting projects to address the immediate (three-to-five year) district needs.
To further guarantee that we were being responsive to your requests, but also fiscally responsible with your tax dollars, rather than including these needs in the last bond issue, we waited two years to ensure that the demographer’s projected growth was confirmed, which it has been. As always, we only present projects that are needed to continue to meet the Guiding Principles supported by our community.
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Will the school boundaries change with this bond?
With the addition of two new schools, a boundary change is required to populate those schools. It is our intent to have only one boundary change for the new schools, but if these facilities are not built to address the growth, there is the potential for multiple boundary changes to reduce overcrowding.
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How does the district decide class sizes and staffing needs?
The Spring Hill School District continuously monitors the district growth and its effect on our class sizes. When class sizes reach the district guideline for that grade, we will hire staff and allocate resources to create a new class. This process is independent of the "crowding" that occurs when a building reaches capacity.
As resources are available, we work to maintain or reduce elementary class sizes within the district. As the following chart displays, over the last two years we have been able to reduce average elementary class sizes in the district.