Should a new Junction City High School be built the plan includes use of state and federal aid to pay the tab with no increase in the local property tax levy.
One of the questions posed during a town hall meeting concerned how can the district be confident the funds are coming to USD 475. Superintendent Dr. Corbin Witt noted if the USD 475 proposal is in, the district will know before it ever goes to the voters if the state has committed to paying for those bonds used to provide state aid. “If the state of Kansas says we will not pay for those we will know before it ever goes to the voters whether the state of Kansas has committed to paying for those bonds. If the state of Kansas says we will not pay for those you’ll know it, we probably won’t have the bond election. ” Witt also told the town hall audience, “If the state of Kansas commits to it we’ve been assured by Dale Dennis, who’s the deputy commissioner, that they’ve never defaulted, they will not default, it’s a demand item transfer, and if they’ve committed it will be paid.”
If a new school is going to be built it would be necessary for local voters to approve a bond issue in order for the state aid to be obtained.
On the issue of federal heavily impacted military aid received by the district federal legislation has been approved continuing that. Witt noted basically that legislation is three years behind. “It’s coming in where it’s looking at our student body from the past years. So the funding, we can already tell whether we qualify or not based on knowing what those enrollment figures were.” Witt added the district knows they qualify through 2020. It’s one of the most bipartisan supported things in the nation. “Military aid is extremely bipartisan supported.
Options for renovating or building a new high school range in cost from $31 million for needed maintenance on the current facility to $105 million for a new ninth through twelfth grade facility that could be built on the west side of Junction City.
The Warren Settles Auditorium at JCHS was about half full Tuesday evening for the town hall meeting. Another town hall session will be held at the same location at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 28th.
