Voters in the Spring Hill School District this week approved a $60 million bond issue that district officials say is needed to finance several building projects to accommodate a growing student population.
The measure, dubbed #BuildingOpportunity by the district, passed in a special mail-in election this week with 64% of voters backing it, according to unofficial final results from the Johnson County Election Office.
Preliminary results showed 2,792 “yes” votes versus 1,566 “no” votes. Turnout was roughly 26%.
At the end of a regularly scheduled board meeting Monday, Spring Hill superintendent Link Luttrell said “a lot hinges” on the bond for the district’s future management and growth.
Luttrell told the Post in an interview after the vote Tuesday that he was “very thrilled” to have strong support from the community.
“The strong support is a testament to our patrons trusting us being good stewards of past projects, and we hope to continue that forward,” Luttrell said.
In a statement, the district said:
“This is more than a bond — it’s a shared vision for growth, opportunity and excellence for every student. Your trust and support ensure we can move forward with projects that expand access to Career & Technical Education, improve safety and efficiency across our campuses and plan responsibly for the future — all without increasing the district’s mill levy.”
What will the bonds pay for?
The Spring Hill Board of Education agreed at a special meeting in January to place the bond proposal on the ballot.
The bond will help pay for multiple projects, including:
- An addition to the Career & Technical Education and Commons expansion at Spring Hill High School — $25 million
- Classroom additions at Spring Hill, Timber Sage and Prairie Creek elementary schools — $16 million
- HVAC improvements at Spring Hill Early Learning Academy, Spring Hill Elementary and Spring Hill Middle School — $12 million
- New roofs at Spring Hill Elementary and Spring Hill Middle schools — $7 million
A breakdown of project costs appeared in a Jan. 13 presentation by DLR Group, an Overland Park architecture firm, to the Spring Hill Board of Education. See a copy of the presentation below.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab District officials have said there will be no mill levy, or property tax, increase with the bond issue.
The mill rate for USD 230 is 67.21 mills, according to the 2024-25 budget document. That’s the highest of Johnson County’s six public school districts.
Luttrell also said a community stakeholder group met for several months to create a vision for managing the district’s growth effectively. That same group ultimately developed the bond proposal.
“The projects included focus on addressing immediate needs while being mindful of our overall mill rate,” Luttrell said via email before the vote. “Importantly, the passage of this bond will not increase to the mill rate.”
Schools will exceed their student capacities soon
Spring Hill, which straddles the line separating Johnson and Miami counties, is the smallest public school district in Johnson County but also reportedly one of the fastest-growing public school districts in Kansas.
It currently enrolls a little less than 4,000 students, according to district data, but officials say the student population is expected to balloon to more than 5,500 over the next decade.
Additionally, the school district projects four schools will exceed their building capacities in the next four years, including:
- Timber Sage Elementary in 2025-26
- Spring Hill High School in 2027-28
- Spring Hill Elementary in 2028-29
- Prairie Creek Elementary in 2028-29
Spring Hill voters have approved several bonds before
Spring Hill voters have a track record over more than two decades of approving bond issues as the school district invests in facilities and school programming.
Voters approved millions of dollars in bond issuances for similar initiatives in at least December 2003, June 2011, September 2016 and September 2018.
However, Spring Hill voters did reject a proposal in January 2000 to issue $26.7 million in bonds that would have paid for several new projects, including land purchase, building a new elementary school and additions at middle and high school buildings. Later, voters rejected a similar bond proposal in June 2007, according to final results the Johnson County Election Office provided to the Post.
Additionally, voters rejected a 7-mill levy increase in February 2005 that would have also gone toward land acquisition, construction and repairs and other projects.
Leah Wankum contributed to this report.
