McPHERSON, Kan. — The McPherson USD 418 Board of Education learned Monday night that work connected with the bond issues that voters approved last week could start as soon as this summer.
Duane Cash from ICS outlined the steps going forward, including completing final design, some of which began Monday as architects began going through district buildings to start the design process. The schematic design is anticipated to be ready to present the board in early June.
Cash said it’s anticipated the McPherson High School projects could be a multi-phase project, spread out over an around three-year period. Conversion of Eisenhower Elementary School to the new McPherson Middle School will not take as long, and it may be ready for use as soon as the 2028 fall semester.
Right now, the anticipation is the Elementary School projects, including moving items from Eisenhower, will be done over three summers.
The Board also heard from Dustin Avey with Piper Sandler who is the bond firm the district is using. Avey said the estimated interest rate on the bonds as of now is projected to be between 4.75% and 5.25%, a bit lower than first projected. Detailed plans for the actual bond sale process will be coming to the board at their April 13 meeting as things stand now.
On a 6-1 vote the Board approved elementary school boundaries for the 2026-27 school year as it moves from four to three elementary schools. The basic part of the plan would move most current Eisenhower Elementary School students to Lincoln Elementary.
This plan, which had the most support in surveys conducted by RSP move 36 rural students who live east of 14th Avenue, or McPherson Main Street, who now attend Eisenhower to Washington. Roosevelt and Washington Elementary Schools would have their in-town boundaries remain as they are now.
Rural students west of 14th who now go to Eisenhower would move to Lincoln, which would be at about 85 percent capacity with the change. Roosevelt would still be at around 70 percent capacity. Board member Chelsea Busch voted against the proposal, thinking some Lincoln students could have been shifted to Roosevelt.
Board members also discussed how such things as grandfathering current students attending a school outside their home school boundaries, and how out of district students would be handled. One idea that was discussed would give the rural Eisenhower students preference as to inter-school transfers. Parents should receive more information on the changes today if they haven’t already.
Superintendent Shiloh Vincent discussed work to meet a goal to identify $1.75 million in spending cuts for the 2026-27 school year. One of the things that is being looked at is eliminating the orchestra program at McPherson Middle School. While Vincent said no decisions have been made on that, one students,two parents, and a private music instructor addressed the board asking to retain the program.
While students’ numbers in the district’s orchestra program are lower than in the past, the parents and students pointed out part of the problem stemmed from an issue involving a former instructor no longer with the district. The parents said if orchestra is removed from the middle school they would definitely transfer to another district.
Vincent and the Board discussed a number of potential options to keep the program, including having an existing staff member assume orchestra classes. On the overall subject of costs, Vincent said they have so far identified between $1.2 million and $1.3 million in reductions that could be made for next year.
USD 418 Food Service Director Bill Froese presented the Board of Education results of a program audit done by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at Monday’s meeting. The district’s last audit was done about four years ago, and Froese said preparing for this audit was not an easy talk, given they had 700 pre-audit questions to answer.
The actual on-site audit took two days, where it usually would take three, and from that the district will make some mostly minor adjustments including the brand of milk alternative, soy milk in this case, they offer. One notable part of the audit looked at processing of free and reduced-price meal applications. Of the 1,066 student records reviewed, all of the students getting such meals, only one was found not to be eligible for reduced price meals, which works out to less than one thousandth of one percent.
