Geary USD 475 has received notification from the U.S. Department of Education stating that the school district has qualified for federal heavy impact aid once again.

That means the district now expects to receive $85 million over the next four years instead of $66.5 million over the next three years.

That is good news for the proposed new Junction City High School project, which would be partially funded by heavy impact aid. That could leave a portion of the federal money for use on other capital improvement projects or to retire the bonds on the new school earlier.

The announcement was made by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Corbin Witt. He also stated that there have been changes in the legislation which in the past limited bonds from covering sports facilities unless they were being replaced to address safety concerns or ADA compliance issues.

The superintendent said the district sought an evaluation of current district sports complexes and found none of the existing facilities were ADA compliant. District officials decided to use the ADA compliance portion of the new legislation to provide better assurances to the community prior to the upcoming bond election.

The proposed construction of a sports complex as it relates to the JCHS Way Forward project is definitely included under the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act. That portion of the project is estimated at $5.6 million of the $105 million maximum amount that would be available for the project.

Voters go to the polls November 7 to cast ballots on a bond issue for the new school. If they say yes the State will pay 47% of the cost of the project, and federal heavy impact aid will provide the remainder of the funding. Witt made it clear during a press conference at the Devin Center there will be no increase in the local property tax levy.