Junction City School District outlines proposed $59 million bond, estimates $20/month per household

District officials presented a proposed facilities bond and a summary of what the package would pay for.

Christina Fulton and Dan Allred told the Junction City City Council the district has completed facility assessments and community visioning and is proposing a bond measure that would fund critical maintenance, mechanical upgrades, safety work and new or improved gym and cafeteria spaces. "It's gonna be roughly about $20 more per month per household, which comes down to about $251 a year," Allred said, citing the district's estimate based on mean home value in the city.

The presenters said many school buildings are decades old: "Turreta Elementary, 61 years old, Laurel Elementary, 75 years old," Fulton said, and noted the East Wing is 88 years old. Fulton and Allred described a long-range facilities planning process, grant applications and community engagement the district used to build the proposal.

The district said it is pursuing state matching grants that can substantially lower the local cost. "We've applied for an awesome grant that's from the state. That's up to about $6,000,000 possible grant matching money along with our bonds," Allred said, adding that the district sits near the threshold for that program and that results from nearby districts could alter the amount the district receives.

Councilors asked about enrollment trends and contingency planning if the bond fails. Officials said some Junction City schools are near capacity (Laurel Elementary reported at about 96% of capacity) even while the district sees larger demographic uncertainty at other grade levels, and they pledged further outreach and additional election cycles if needed. Allred said the district would use the 2025 ballot cycle to capitalize on the timing and outreach window; "if it is unsuccessful, then we probably will go ahead in the next election cycle and have more time to educate more people," he said.

The presentation included facility-by-facility cost breakdowns in the packet and a district estimate that, without matching grants, the project list totals roughly $59,070,000. Fulton and Allred offered to provide updated enrollment numbers and other detail to council and the public upon request.

What happens next: the school district will continue community outreach and post materials electronically, and the council received the presentation; any formal local action would depend on the district's ballot planning and final bond language.