
Information from USD 373
NEWTON, Kan. — The USD 373 bond vote for $8.4M to renovate and upgrade Santa Fe and Lindley Hall is the last question on the ballot for those living within the school district boundaries.
The proposed $8.4M bond does not raise the mill levy and would return gym use to Santa Fe students in the fall of 2023. Since the June 2021 storm, students have not had use of the Lindley Hall gymnasium. Physical Education class is primarily held at the Newton Recreation Center.
The USD 373 transportation department provides a driver for the classes to get bussed to and from the Rec all day. In a 40 minute class period, it is estimated 20-25 minutes are used for instructional time with the transition of getting on and off the bus.
Sometimes, when drivers are pulled away for other needs like a school-wide field trip, a bus driver is not available for this purpose. That was the reality once a week in the month of September 2022. When that happens, PE teachers have to make other plans.
The gym is not just used for PE. Santa Fe has not had a choir concert since 2019. They've been unable to hold assemblies, or their community-wide Winter Feast, or their Christmas showdown or their end-of-the-year talent show.
The final bond informational session is on Thursday, October 27th at 6 p.m. at The Porch in downtown Newton. There will also be a Facebook Live Q&A session on Thursday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m. on the Newton Schools Facebook page.
Financial documents and renderings can be found here.
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