By a better than 2:1 advantage, Seward Public School District voters have endorsed a bond issue of up to $25 million for capital improvements, repairs and site improvements across the district.
Mail-in voting closed Feb. 10 with 3,354 ballots submitted to the Seward County Election Commissioner Brandy Johnson’s office. Of those, 2,332 – or 69 percent – of the votes cast favored the bond issue and 1,022 voted against the measure, as posted on the county’s website Feb. 10.
Ballots could be mailed to or dropped off at the Seward County Courthouse, but had to be received by 5 p.m. that day. District residents living in Butler County were required to turn their ballots in there, but they were to be counted in Seward County for inclusion in the totals.
“We are just very happy, very excited for the community and the voters to look forward to the future of Seward Public Schools,” said Seward School Superintendent Josh Fields about an hour after the voting closed.
“It really shows the strength of community support for education.”
Fields said volunteers and others conducted 34 or 35 presentations to stakeholder groups since the bond initiative was announced and also offered question-and-answer format information for district voters.
“We really worked at getting the word out to stakeholders,” he said.
Some parents also took steps to rally support outside the district’s activities, he said.
The bond issue will fund projects related to safety, security, and educational facility enhancements.
Safety and security improvements will include entrances at the elementary and high schools, storm-enhanced classroom additions and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant (ADA) bathroom upgrades at the elementary school, heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC) additions for the high school and elementary gyms and storm-enhanced rooms at the high school.
Educational facility enhancements will include a four-room science addition, room renovations for vocal music, art, Career and Technical Education (CTE) and life skills programs, an animal science building, athletic upgrades for the track, football field, bleachers, concession stand and restrooms at the high school, a track at the middle school and upgrades to Legion Field at Plum Creek Park.
Fields said the district will soon begin the process of working with architects to finalize plans and create a timeline for bidding and construction work.
All projects are expected to be completed in the summer of 2028.
