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Over the past 15 months, the USD 244 Board of Education has spent a great amount of time considering the future of Burlington Elementary School.  They have toured and discussed BES numerous times.  We have formed a BES Community Advisory Committee focused on sharing information and getting valuable feedback from the public.  This committee included parents, community leaders, board members, and staff.  There have been two town hall meetings at BES for anyone to attend in late 2024.  We have asked construction professionals to give us addition/renovation information for the current BES as well as information on what a new BES would cost.  The board has also spent additional time with work sessions to gain even more information on what is going to be the best for our students and staff as well as what is going to be the best for our tax-paying citizens in USD 244. 

The USD 244 Board of Education passed a resolution at the February, 2025 board meeting to have the public vote on a bond issue to construct a new BES north of the Wildcat/Ladycat Baseball and Softball Complex.  This new BES will include the Burlington Early Learning Center (BELC) daycare up to grade 5.  This proposed plan will allow us to have all of our schools within a ½ mile of each other.  It will create a new BES that will better meet the current and future needs of our students and staff, it will move 5^th graders back to BES, this will allow additional space for BMS growth without any additional cost, as well as many other positives too numerous to mention.

Some of the many factors that the board considered when determining a new school was the best option for our students and staff as well as the most fiscally responsible for our community.  Below are three key items that were discussed numerous times.    

1. The needs of our students and staff now and in the future.
2. The current set up with BES being land locked.  We could do one add on/renovation to the current BES, but there wouldn’t be room for a second addition.
3. The cost of an addition/renovation was going to be somewhere between $15-$20 million.  This may meet our needs for a long time or a short time.  The cost of a new BES would be around $40-$45 million.  If we did the add on/renovation and in five years it didn’t meet our needs, we wouldn’t be able to ask the public for another bond issue.      

There will be many future meetings as well as a lot of information about the BES bond issue in the weeks to come.  We will share tax implications for patrons very soon.  Please ask board members or me if you have any questions.  We want people to get informed and vote.

If you ever have any questions about USD 244, please contact me at your convenience.  My e-mail is cmarshall@usd244ks.org and my phone number is 620-364-8478 Extension 3040. 

GO WILDCATS!

#Bton244OnTheGrow

It is time for a Question/Answer article focused on the BES Bond Issue. I hope you find this information helpful.

• What will the tax increase be?

A $45 million bond issue for 15 years will increase our mill levy 7.2 mills. The tax increase on a $100,000 home annually will be $82.80 a year. That is $6.90 a month and $0.23 a day. If you own a $200,000 home, you can double that amount and so on. The tax increase on a $100,000 commercial building is $15 a month. The tax increase on 160 acres of grass land is $3.28 a month. The tax increase on 160 acres of dry crop land is $7.72 a month.

• What grade levels will be in this new building?

This facility will be a birth to 5th grade building. The Burlington Early Learning Center (BELC) will have a wing on this building. We will have more space to increase our enrollment at the BELC. We will move the 5th grade to the new BES. A big reason for this adjustment is 5th grade is considered more of an elementary grade. Intellectually and socially/emotionally, they fit better in an elementary school.

• Will all buildings benefit from this bond issue?

The bond issue is strictly for a new BES. However, BMS and BHS will benefit from this project indirectly. With a new BES, we can focus our capital outlay funds on BMS and BHS which are aging buildings. We won’t have major needs at BES for many years.

• Does the district currently have any bond debt?

No.

• Will there be town hall meetings for the public?

Yes. April 15 and 22 at 6 PM. There will be more information in the future.

I will continue to write articles to share information with the public. We will have a website specifically for the bond issue in the upcoming weeks.

If you ever have any questions about USD 244, please contact me at your convenience. My e-mail is cmarshall@usd244ks.org and my phone number is 620-364-8478 Extension 3040.

GO WILDCATS!

#Bton244OnTheGrow