Wellman

The Mid-Prairie school district can breathe a sigh of relief, as the $19 million bond passed last week.

The district includes Kalona, Wellman and West Chester and spans parts of Washington and Johnson counties. Voters supported the measure with 2,445 votes in favor and 1,225 against, giving it about 66.6% approval—above the 60% threshold needed to pass.

The bond will fund a new events entrance, additional classrooms for fine arts and special education, a 500-seat auditorium and other improvements.

Before the election, the district estimated general education classrooms and new special education classrooms would cost around $1 million each. Other projected costs include $4.4 million for fine arts classrooms, $3 million for activities commons with restrooms and concessions, and $8.6 million for the auditorium. Bond and legal fees are estimated at around $600,000.

Mid-Prairie Superintendent Brian Stone expressed excitement after the bond passed.

 “This is very exciting because of all the work that was done by so many people to make it happen. From community members to our architectural firm, to our construction managers and just the publication of things through the paper has been very beneficial. It's very exciting to see a lot of hard work pay off.”

Mid-Prairie school board President Randy Billups also thanked the community for supporting the bond.

“A sincere thank you to the community for coming together to support the passing vote for the proposed bond last week. To the facilities committee, MPCSD Administration and staff as well as individuals who took time to advocate for our district; you are the reason our students and staff have the incredible opportunities this change will bring. I couldn't be more excited and proud to watch this come to life and our Mid-Prairie community supports it!”

Hayley Hershberger, president of the MPCSD Foundation Board of Trustees, also issued a statement following the bond’s passage.

  “Thank you to everyone in the Mid-Prairie community who supported this bond and took the time to vote! It’s exciting to see our community come together to invest in the future of our schools. I’m especially excited about the new auditorium and the opportunities it will provide for our students and community for generations to come. Thank you to everyone who helped make this project possible!”

With the bond approved, the district will begin working with OPN Architects and Carl A. Nelson on design and project planning, according to Stone.

“The next thing we would need to do is literally start putting pencil to paper as to how things start to lay out the time frame, the scheduling. Now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty of it.”

Stone said the goal is to spend the next eight to 10 months in the design phase, with groundbreaking tentatively planned for late spring or early summer of 2028. The district hopes to complete the project by fall 2029.

“We’re going to probably be in the extreme design phase for the next eight to 10 months, and then we would like to start getting things lined up for bid in the winter, and then hopefully get so that we’re breaking ground maybe late spring, early summer of 2028. Then potentially look to maybe have the project completed by the fall of 2029. Now, there’s a lot of moving pieces. This is all clearly projected, and there’s a lot of moving pieces of this puzzle.”

Stone also discussed the improvements’ potential impact on the district.

“I could talk for hours on ways that it's going to impact people, because it was just going to be a great change.”

He said the full impact may become clearer once people can experience the new spaces.

“I think people have thought about it, and people have seen it, and people have talked about it. … I don't know if people really know that because you can only talk about it until you get to the point of like, oh wow, this is pretty amazing. … I mean, so there's just a lot, and that's not even touching the spaces inside the building.”

This is the second bond Mid-Prairie voters have approved in recent years. In 2023, voters approved an $8.7 million bond with 70% support.

Over the next few years, the projects funded by the latest bond will take shape, giving the community a chance to see the improvements firsthand.