By Adam Stewart
Hutchinson Tribune Staff
Photo Credit: Adam Stewart
HUTCHINSON—The Hutchinson USD 308 Board of Education approved a resolution by a 6-1 margin, calling for a referendum this November on a 12-year, $36 million bond issue during its meeting on Monday, July 27.
If approved by voters on Nov. 3, the bonds would be used for improvements to heating, ventilation and air conditioning; roofs; safety and security; storm shelters; restrooms; and playgrounds at district facilities.
The proposal is for less than a third of the amount of a $109.5 million proposal in 2025, which would have also built a sixth-through-eighth-grade middle school at the site of the Salthawk Sports Complex.
The board plans to use the district’s capital outlay budget to make additional repairs and improvements that are less urgent, while keeping the district’s overall property tax rate steady.
Board Member Lindsey Hatfield was the dissenting vote. She said she struggled with moving forward with the bond election, considering how badly the 2025 proposal was defeated, with nearly 75% of votes against it, and post-election surveys that found voters’ trust in the board was low. She said she worried another bond proposal would worsen that trust issue, emboldening opponents of public education to run for the board.
Hatfield encouraged the board to not put a new bond question on the ballot, to use the capital outlay budget to work on facilities over time, and spend time working on building public trust.
Board Member Cheryl Thompson said the board listened to the feedback after the 2025 election, and the new bond proposal reflected that by keeping the existing middle schools in place and focusing on the priorities voters said they supported.
“We heard them,” Thompson said. “I want them to know we heard them.”
Board Member Tad Dower said he appreciated Hatfield’s points but said he was concerned that construction costs could rise faster than the district’s ability to pay for them if roof and HVAC projects have to wait years.
Board President Lance Patterson said he read a study of schools across 27 states about the impact of bond issues on test scores, and bonds that put money into infrastructure like roofs and HVAC correlated significantly with improved student achievement.
“These things are important enough that we need to ask the community to support them now and not put them off for the future,” he said.
Board Member Gleysha Mendez-Rosario said she wrestled with what was the right decision. She said the district has about 4,000 students to take care of and about 1,000 employees.
“I’m not for raising taxes or mill levies, but at the same time, I want roofs over our kids’ heads,” Thompson said. “I want HVAC.”
Hatfield said she believes in the school district, but she didn’t think it was the right time to pursue another bond issue. She said she would like to revisit the question in a year.
Thompson made a motion to put the bond issue on the Nov. 3 election. Mendez-Rosario seconded the motion, which passed 6-1.
Property tax decreasing in 2026-27 budget
The school board scheduled its 2026-27 budget hearing and set a maximum budget with a 2% decrease in the property tax rate.
If approved after the budget hearing at 5:50 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, USD 308’s property tax rate would be 51.364 mills, a decrease of 1.06 mills from the current rate of 52.424 mills. That is a difference of $12.19 per $100,000 of a home’s appraised value.
Housing construction at former hospital site
The board approved an agreement with Hutchinson Community College and Interfaith Housing & Community Services for a multi-year housing development at the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital site at 500 W. 20th Ave., supported by a Fostering Residential Advancement through Mentoring and Education (FRAME) grant the college was awarded in 2025. The property is owned by Interfaith.
USD 308’s responsibilities in the agreement include staffing and administering the Construction Technology program, promoting and assisting in recruiting youth apprentice prospects for the Interfaith Construction Apprentice Program (ICAP), and participating financially and in project design and timeline decisions.
The college will act as fiscal sponsor and handle administrative responsibilities for the FRAME grant, while Interfaith will provide single-family and duplex lots, handle plat work, design plans and permitting, and serve as the general contractor for all single-family units built during the project. Interfaith will officially employ the youth apprentices, paying $14 to $16 per hour, depending on experience, and will provide workers’ compensation insurance.
The agreement says the total cost of each stand-alone home will not exceed $260,000.
HMS-7 elevator
The school board also approved spending $57,000 to have TK Elevator repair the elevator at Hutchinson Middle School 7, which was damaged when a fourth-floor bathroom flooded on July 3. On July 13, before the district had a quote for the repairs, the board authorized spending up to $40,000 on the project in the hopes of speeding up the work before school starts.
Personnel
The board met in closed executive session with Superintendent Dawn Johnson for 25 minutes to discuss personnel matters. Afterward, the board approved the personnel report.
The board also approved $320,000 for administrative and classified staff salary increases.
The USD 308 Board of Education’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, at the district’s administration center, 1520 N. Plum St.. That is a later start than normal to allow for board members to attend school open houses before the meeting.