School Bonds Fail In Two Southwest Kansas Districts

After months of community informative meetings, two local area school districts: USD 214 and USD 210 voted down bond issues for upgrades to learning facilities.

Concluding the August 29 bond elections, both districts were met with lopsided results.

Majority of Ulysses voters declined the $44,750,000 bond 929-241 while Hugoton’s $35,615,000 bond issue failed 893-244. Additionally, Ulysses residents voted on a one percent special sales tax per the bond, which also met unfavorable results of 637-290. 

USD 214 Superintendent Corey Burton said the results were "disappointing".

“Although we were disappointed in the outcome of the school bond on Tuesday, we still want to thank our bond committee members for the many hours they invested in assisting us in developing this bond," Burton said in a statement provided to The Ulysses News. "As a group, we felt these updates would not only improve the learning environment for our kids now, but set the district up for continued success into the future. We would also like to thank the City of Ulysses for their support in running a sales tax initiative to help offset the cost of the bond. The board will continue discussion moving forward on how best to meet the needs of our students, families, and staff.”

USD 210 Superintendent Adrian Howie posted a statement to social media in response to the bond election there.

“To all who took the time in these past few days to vote early, and to those who went to the polls today, I want to extend my deepest gratitude," Howie said. "America was founded on the principles of democracy - a land where people have the right to make their voices heard by casting their votes at the ballot box. Today, our community had the opportunity to exemplify this foundational principle and spoke with a resoundingly clear voice.

"While some may interpret tonight's results as a setback, the reality is quite different," Howie continued. "We now have an opportunity to return to the drawing board and develop a better plan that can address the district's needs while being more agreeable to the community as a whole. Lessons will be learned. Until then, we will continue to address facility needs to the best of our ability, ensuring that our students can continue learning each and every day."

Howie addressed the staff and community directly in his statement.

"To all the USD 210 staff, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for helping to make the start of this school year a great one for all our students," Howie said. "You live, breathe, and embody our mission of teaching EVERY child, EVERY day. Tomorrow will be no exception.

"To our community, I extend my thanks for the support you provide to our staff," Howie concluded. "These individuals dedicate themselves tirelessly to help every child in our community succeed. They offer guidance, wisdom., and love to ensure that our students learn every day.

"Above all, I thank you for the support you give to our students. They are our future. I hope the lessons they have learned from witnessing this bond election unfold will stay with them as they mature into civic-minded citizens. They are fortunate to have a community willing to model the values of democracy and teach them that whenever they come together, they will always have a voice.”

Official results for both unified school districts have yet to be released. Unofficial results can be found for USD 214 at grantcoks.org and for USD 210 at stevenscoks.org.