The Lee’s Summit R-7 Board of Education approved placement of a no tax rate increase bond issue for the April 8, 2025 ballot at its Dec. 19 regular monthly meeting. Board members approved ballot language to fund major building improvements and maintenance and equipment needs throughout the district by a 7-0 vote.
The $225 million bond issue would finance facility needs identified through an 18-month stakeholder process, and includes the construction of new buildings for Hazel Grove and Greenwood elementaries, renovations for Pleasant Lea Middle School and Miller Park Center, high school athletic field upgrades, safety and security improvements, and critical maintenance and repairs throughout the district, among other items.
Also approved by the Board: a special resolution addressing a district proposal to address declining enrollment at Lee’s Summit Elementary (LSE) and Westview (WVE) elementaries by consolidating both attendance areas in a renovated, state-of-the-art building on the Westview campus. The proposal was made by administration last month and later endorsed by a stakeholder group that recommends bond projects to elected officials. The Board’s resolution considered Thursday allocates 2025 bond funds to both schools but stipulates that before any plan for consolidation or separate renovations at each school can proceed, a district-wide elementary enrollment evaluation must be conducted and a strategic plan to address shifting student populations must be developed by a committee of district stakeholders and approved by the Board.
The bond issue is the result of an 18-month process beginning with engagement surveys in Fall 2023 taken by more than 3,400 parents, staff and community members. More than 150 stakeholders on district and building-level Comprehensive Facilities Master Planning (CFMP) teams reviewed this feedback in conjunction with district data and identified $560 million in capital needs district-wide over the next five years. The group also determined five priorities for facility improvements reflected in the 2025 bond projects: ADA accessibility, safety and security, future-ready-learning, infrastructure upgrades and programmatic improvements.
The CFMP work provided extensive analysis for consideration by the Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC), the district stakeholder group tasked by the Board each bond cycle with recommending to elected officials which projects to address with available funds and which to defer. The Board approved all projects recommended by the CAC this cycle, with the exception of its specific LSE/WVE resolution.
By law, voter-approved bond funds are restricted to capital improvements such as new schools, building renovations and maintenance. Operating costs such as staffing, employee salaries and classroom supplies cannot be covered by a bond issue. The April 2025 bond issue will require a four-sevenths majority for approval.
The deadline to register to vote for the April election is March 12.
