By Chance Swaim/The Wichita Eagle
In our Reality Check stories, Wichita Eagle journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Story idea? tips@wichitaeagle.com.
Wichita Public Schools voters will decide this month whether to support a $450 million bond issue that would rebuild, consolidate and close schools throughout the city.
The bond issue would pay to rebuild seven elementary and middle schools, close four elementary schools, convert two elementary schools to K-8 buildings and consolidate alternative school programs, among a number of other items aimed at increasing efficiency for maintaining buildings under a “newer and fewer” school master plan adopted by the school board in 2024.
If the bond issue fails, school district officials said, Wichita Public Schools would follow the master plan with what funding it has available, meaning schools would still close without new ones being built.
School district officials and proponents of the school bond — who earlier referred to the plan as a “zero tax increase” bond issue — have called it a “zero-rate-change” plan because it won’t change the rates property tax payers now pay.
Meanwhile, opponents of the bond say that language ignores two major points: The bond issue represents a tax hike from 0 to 7.5 mills starting in 2029, and the actual cost of property taxes increases each year because of rising property valuations.
So who’s right? And how will the bond issue affect your property taxes if you’re a homeowner?
Both sides are technically correct.
Homeowners now have a 7.5 mill property tax rate to pay off debt from 2008 bonds. That rate would continue until at least 2045 if the new bond issue is approved.
If voters reject it, the mill levy is expected to end in four years. Taxes would then go down. If property values remained flat for the next 20 years, most homeowners would pay thousands of dollars over that period to retire the school bond debt.
School bond taxes on a $100,000 home would cost $86.25 a year and $1,725 total. For a $200,000 house, taxes tied to the school bond would be $172.50 a year and $3,450 total. Owners of $300,000 homes would pay $258.75 a year and $5,175 total.
But property values don’t remain flat.
Over the past 20 years, appraised values of homes in the Wichita School District 259 have increased by an average of 74%, according to the Sedgwick County Appraiser’s Office.
If that trend continued, on average, homes appraised at $100,000 in 2025 would increase in value to $174,000 by the time the bond issue is paid off. A $200,000 home would increase to $348,000.
Under that scenario, the school bond would cost the owner of a $100,000 residential property $86.25 in the first year. In 20 years, that cost would increase to $150.08 as the value of the home increased. The bond issue would cost the owner a total of $2,363.25 over 20 years.
If you own a $200,000 home, you could end up paying $4,726.50 over 20 years for the school bond issue if the value of your home increased 74% and the mill-levy rate stayed the same. For $300,000 homes, the total would jump to $7,089.75.
To recap: If the bond issue passes, the tax rate used to calculate property taxes will not change. If the bond issue passes, the tax rate will go down in four years.
If it passes, though the rate wouldn’t change, you would still likely pay more in property taxes over time with increases in home values. If it fails, some have argued, home values could decline as neighborhood schools across the city continue to age and deferred maintenance costs increase.
Registered voters who live in the Wichita Public Schools (USD 259) district can vote in person on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Voting by mail begins Wednesday, Feb. 5, and early in-person voting at the Sedgwick County Election Office begins Tuesday, Feb. 18. Satellite locations open for early voting Thursday, Feb. 20.
You can find out whether you’re registered to vote in the school bond election and find out your polling place by visiting the Kansas Secretary of State’s VoterView website at myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
This article was republished here with the permission of: The Wichita Eagle