Olathe school district voters will start receiving mail-in ballots this week for a $389 million bond referendum.
If voters pass it, the district said it will fund facility upgrades, school consolidation and technology improvements.
All voting will be conducted by mail, with ballots due by Election Day on March 3.
Where would the money go?
The largest portion of the proposed bond — $70 million — would go toward the district’s Capital Improvement Plan, which covers building maintenance like HVAC systems, roofs and paving.
The second highest ticket item is $68 million to school consolidation — a topic that remains top of mind for the district recently in the wake of declining enrollment.
The bond would pay for the construction of a new building for all Fairview and Northview Elementary students at Northview’s current location. Central and Ridgeview Elementary schools would also consolidate into a new building at Central’s site.
The district described the buildings for those schools as “end of life.” Staffers surveyed residents who live within the bounds of Olathe Public Schools when creating the bond proposal and said that 71.5% of respondents supported the idea of consolidating schools.
Earlier this school year, the board of education approved sending all Westview Elementary students to Rolling Ridge starting next fall.
The district has also created a three-phase plan to determine which other schools would be good candidates for consolidation, which would happen over the next two to three years.
At a board of education meeting in November 2025, board member Brad Boyd asked Olathe schools’ Chief Financial Officer John Hutchison, who presented the board with the proposed bond, how the district can ask for a bond while also facing declining enrollment.
“While we no longer need the bond funds to accommodate our growth,” Hutchison said, “we do have an obligation to maintain the buildings that we do have [and] seek efficiencies.”
Hutchison said this bond, if approved, would also help free up operational money to attract and retain staff.
Other proposed spending includes:
- $64 million for technology replacement and audio enhancement in classrooms
- $55 million to update high school facilities
- $50 million to athletics and activities, including creating multipurpose rooms and additional outdoor fields to accommodate expanding girls sports
- $32 million to rebuild Meadow Lane Elementary School
- $20 million to update middle school facilities
- $15 million for furniture replacement
- $10 million for safety and security
- $4 million to update elementary schools
- $1 million for musical instrument replacement
How bond referendums work
A bond referendum asks voters to allow the school district to borrow money for facility-related projects. Districts can’t use bond money for day-to-day operational costs like staff.
If approved by voters, the district will then sell bonds to investors and repay that debt over time. The district said the proposed bond would not increase property taxes.
Olathe voters have previously approved several bond measures, most recently in 2022.
Voters approved that $300 million bond with 67.7% support. The district is still using those funds. So far, the money has gone toward rebuilding Santa Fe Trail Middle School and the Olathe Innovation Center, which opened in January, as well as other maintenance and projects in the district’s Capital Improvement Plan.
Before that, voters approved a $156 million bond in 2016.
Confusion over Chiefs partnership
About a month after the board of education approved the bond ballot measure, the Kansas City Chiefs announced plans to relocate their headquarters and training facility to Olathe as part of a big jump across the state line from Missouri.
The timing, as well as the $50 million earmarked for athletics and activities in the bond proposal, led some Olathe voters to believe the funds would go toward a stadium with the Chiefs.
Since then, district officials have repeatedly clarified that no formal partnership exists and the Chiefs and bond vote are not connected.
Assistant Communications Director Erin Schulte called those claims that bond money could be used for a stadium with the Chiefs “misinformation.”
She said the bond proposal is “not driven by, nor contingent upon, the Chiefs in any way,” and that decisions about district-funded fields would be made independently of any partnership.
What’s next
Ballots must be returned by noon on March 3.
No postage is required to return ballots by mail. However, the election office does recommend sending them by Feb. 24, as the Postal Services have changed their shipping operations, which could result in delays on returned ballots and risk them not getting counted.
The Johnson County Election Office has nine ballot drop-off locations:
- Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park
- Edgerton Library, 319 E. Nelson St., Edgerton
- Former De Soto Fire Station, 33150 W. 83rd St., De Soto
- Gardner Library, 137 E. Shawnee St., Gardner
- Johnson County Election Office, 2101 E. Kansas City Road, Olathe
- Johnson County Northeast Offices, 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission
- Shawnee Library, 13811 Johnson Drive, Shawnee
- Spring Hill Civic Center, 401 N. Madison St., Spring Hill
All drop box locations are open 24/7.
If the bond passes, the district can begin issuing bonds and scheduling projects. If it fails, the district said it would immediately work on a new bond proposal.
