McPHERSON, Kan. — A facilities steering committee for McPherson USD 418 has narrowed down from six to three, the number of concepts being looked for facility improvements in the district. Over 100 people attended two open house sessions Wednesday where attendees learned information costs, advantages and disadvantages along with sharing input.
The current discussions all look towards reducing the number of elementary schools in the district from the current four to three, with two of the options relocating McPherson Middle School, to the site of an existing facility.
USD 418 Superintendent Shiloh Vincent shared that one of the options being looked at is constructing a new high school at a new site, under which the current high school would be converted into a middle school. A second option would involve renovating and updating the existing high school facility, and conversion of the current Eisenhower Elementary School into a middle school.
The other option would involve a renewal of the high school and limited improvements to other buildings in the district. As reported earlier, this option could be done without increasing the district’s property tax levy through an early payoff of the district’s only remaining bonded debt.
Vincent noted these are not the only options the Board of Education would ultimately consider. “We’ve heard a lot of interesting feedback, a lot of unique questions, and so we’ll continue to revise,” Vincent told Ad Astra News, with the potential of an additional option surfacing.
The concept of a 5-8 middle school in the district was something that came out of the facility discussions over the past several weeks. Vincent said there has been a lot of input on this idea. In the proposal to relocate the middle school to the Eisenhower site,5th and 6rh grade students would generally be separated from 7th and 8th graders.
Prior to the current building alignment being adopted, 5th and 6th grade students attended the former Park School, with what at the time McPherson Junior High School housing 7th through 9th grades, and McPherson High School 10th through 12th grades.
Going forward, the Board will review the input received from the facilities committee and from Wednesday’s open house which was held at the McPherson Museum. The board has also authorized a phone survey to obtain some broader input as part of the process; with the current expectation a bond issue could be submitted to voters in March 2026.
