Crews Making Progress on Prop B Projects

Residents approved the $44 million zero-tax-rate-increase Proposition B bond issue on April 5, 2022, to fund a new long-range facilities master plan for the district. The plan called for adding elementary school classrooms to address growth in student enrollment; adding classrooms for the Early Education Center; updating school facilities to meet current and future teaching and learning needs for students; and providing safety and facility improvements across the district.

Approval of the bond issue did not increase the district’s property tax rate. Prop B bond funds can only be used for capital improvement projects.

Most of the Proposition B zero-tax-increase bond projects are on track and on time in Kearney School District this summer. In addition, after spending time in the winter and spring reconsidering options and engaging with the community, the school district is moving forward with plans to add classrooms for our students by expanding the elementary schools and making significant upgrades to meet the needs of 21st-century teaching and learning.

Elementary Classrooms and 21st-Century Teaching & Learning

Architects and engineers are already working on plans to expand current elementary schools and expect to begin that work in 2024. Prop B was also intended to help address the needs of 21st-century teaching and learning. This effort focuses on upgrading elementary school spaces to facilitate collaboration, authentic literacy and hands-on, project-based learning. These updates are critical in order to help students prepare for the Real World Learning experiences at the secondary schools.

Early Education Center

Contractors are close to completing the expansion of the Early Education Center. The EEC will roughly double in size as it takes the entire building that used to be shared with KSD’s central office. This will significantly enhance the capacity to serve and support our preschool children and their families.

KHS Auditorium

The performing arts auditorium at Kearney High School first opened in 1989 and was overdue for an update. Crews are extensively renovating the space. That work includes the installation of new seating. They are also modernizing the lighting and sound wiring and equipment to meet current standards. This project will help provide outstanding experiences starting this fall for theater, choir and band students, in addition to facilitating school- and district-wide events.

Middle School Sixth-Grade Bathrooms

Contractors are in the closing stages of adding bathrooms for sixth graders at Kearney Middle School. This project will create more equity for that wing of the building compared with the seventh-grade wing. It will help alleviate what had become a bottleneck that caused delays between classes and will improve the culture and climate in the school.

Junior High Roof and Wall

Among the most critical maintenance needs identified during the facilities master planning process was the replacement of the roof at Kearney Junior High. About 75% of that project is completed and we anticipate that the remainder will be addressed before the start of classes on Aug. 22. In addition, crews have also reinforced the foundation of the building’s A Wing and repaired wall cracks.

KPGZ News - Ray Weikal of the Kearney School District contributed to this story