2008 Bond Accomplishments

  • 75 schools received improvements

    • 1.9 Million square feet of new space added
    • 6 brand new schools (Christa McAuliffe, Enders, Isely, Northeast, Ortiz and Southeast) and 3 rebuilt schools (Dodge, Mueller and Spaght)
    • 214 classrooms added to existing or replacement schools; 282 classrooms in new schools, 17 portable classrooms removed


    60 safe rooms - All of our schools have safe rooms. Wichita Public Schools was the first district in the country to install safe rooms and is the largest school district in the country to have a safe room in all of its schools.


    Technical Education upgrades at 5 high schools, new facilities at 2 brand-new high school buildings


    9 libraries added or expanded


    12 new elementary and 1 middle school cafeterias; 2 elementary and 3 middle school cafeterias enlarged


    Multipurpose rooms added to 13 elementary schools and 1 high school


    17 renovated high school and middle school auditoriums, 3 new auditoriums, 4 new schools with auditoriums


    7 high school music suites;  5 expanded middle school music and/or art classrooms


    7 new high school gymnasiums, 1 new high school practice gymnasium


    7 middle school gymnasiums


    7 new swimming pools


    6 tennis court complexes


    7 all-weather turf fields tracks at high schools; 5 all-weather tracks at middle schools


    26 schools with added or upgraded student support space


    20 general contractors, 11 mechanical subcontractors, 12 electrical subcontractors, 18 architectural firms

2000 Bond Accomplishments

    • 92 school projects received improvements as part of the 5-year construction plan.
    • 6 reconstructed school facilities: Earhart, Horace Mann, Allen, Enterprise, Linwood and Washington
    • ALL district schools are now air conditioned; 67 schools now have air conditioning that didn’t when the bond referendum was passed in April 2000.
    • School improvements include:
      o   1.2 million square feet of newly-constructed space
      o   6 million square feet of existing space fully or partially renovated
      o   30+ “safe rooms” constructed in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Association to serve dual purpose as both student space (gymnasiums, classrooms) and shelter from severe weather
      o   Two brand new schools added to the district in northeast Wichita: Stucky Middle School, constructed on land donated by Koch Industries, and Jackson Elementary School
      o   500+ new classrooms replaced temporary, inadequate spaces
      o   150+ new science labs in every middle and high school
      o   20 new libraries, 13 more renovated
      o   218 portable classroom buildings demolished

Community Support

  • Nearly 6,000 Wichita citizens responded to the public engagement survey commissioned by the Wichita Public Schools and conducted by Wichita State University in the fall of 2005. When asked about their level of approval for the results of bond issue construction, respondents indicated strong community support for the effort’s very visible outcomes:

    • Science Labs – 95.3% support
    • Increased or Improved Classroom Space - 90.7% support
    • Infrastructure – 94.4% support
    • Air-Conditioning – 90.9% support
    • Reduce Classroom Health Risks – 94% support
    • New and Renovated Libraries – 93.8% support
    • Multi-Purpose Safe Rooms – 93.1% support
    • Technology – 93.5% support
    • Improved Access and Learning Opportunities for the Physically Disabled – 93.3% support

    In the 2005 survey, when asked about the willingness to pay for future investments in the Wichita Public Schools, the results indicated strong community support to enhance facilities for better education of our children:

    • Technical Education - 82.6% support
    • Neighborhood schools/elimination of forced busing -  78.4% support
    • New or renovated neighborhood schools -  78.4% support
    • Additional classrooms and reduce class size -  76.5% support
    • Accommodate growth in northeast and southeast areas -  71.6% support
    • Increase pre-kindergarten and early childhood programs -  69.1% support