27-02-2025
‘Til the last vote has been counted': Wichita school district isn't conceding bond election
The Wichita school district would not yet concede Wednesday morning in a close race for the approval of a $450 million school bond issue.
'Yesterday didn't end the way we had hoped, because we hoped we'd have a very clear answer by now, which we don't,' said USD 259 Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld. 'There was a very solid turnout with close results, and we're going to wait til the last vote has been counted.'
Updated results from the election office Wednesday afternoon showed the no vote leading by 295 ballots, or 1 percent of the vote. That is up from a lead of 228 votes at the end of Tuesday night.
The district held a news conference Wednesday morning at Black Traditional Magnet, which is one of the schools that was set to be rebuilt as part of the bond issue.
The money from the bond issue was sought 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.
State law allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to three days after Election Day, if postmarked by Tuesday.
The county election office sent out 10,147 mail-in ballots for the special election, but only 6,121 have been returned as of Tuesday night.
About 13% of eligible voters participated in the February special election with a single question on the ballot.
According to Bielefeld, the district has not yet looked into whether it should call for a recount if the vote is within 1 percent.
'It would have to just depend on how close it is and the cost of that and all of that,' he said.
The Vote No campaign, which opposed the school bond issue, said it's prepared if the race goes into a recount.
'If that's what's going to happen, that's what's going to happen,' organizer Ben Davis said Tuesday night. 'At the end of the day, I feel pretty secure where we are, but obviously, that can change, and if it does change, then I will accept the results of that.'
Moving forward, the district said it's unsure of its next steps until all the votes are counted.
'So until all those votes are counted, we're just gonna wait and see and then make determinations after that,' Bielefeld said.
There's some speculation whether the school district, pending the final results of this election, would go back and ask voters for a much smaller bond issue than the $450 million it was asking for.
Bielefeld would not confirm that that was an option the district is considering on Wednesday.
'I think we need to get through this vote, before we talk about that next vote, if there is one,' he said.
Voters in the Kansas City, Kansas school district rejected a $480 million bond issue in early 2024 – the district then downsized its plans to a $180 million bond issue, which passed several months later.
Davis, with the Vote No campaign, said he does not want that to be the case in Wichita.
'I want to send a hopefully unmistakable message that we shouldn't be putting a bond measure on the ballot again,' he said.
The district has said even if the bond issue doesn't pass, it will still shutter L'Ouverture, OK, Pleasant Valley and Woodland elementary schools. Those students would be moved to newer, larger schools if the bond issue was approved.
The district has said recently it would still move those students to other schools, but spread them out more among existing schools to keep class sizes down.
Many questions still remain about other capital projects that are planned as part of the district's facility master plan.
Election results will be certified in a canvass at the Sedgwick County Election Office on March 6.
Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Wichita Eagle
