Expansion talk on table for Jackson Heights board

Concerns over a growing number of kindergarten students expected in the Jackson Heights school district for the 2024-25 school year, as well as a State of Kansas-mandated policy for accepting out-of-district students, had members of the Jackson Heights USD 335 Board of Education briefly talking about the possibility of a bond issue for elementary school expansion.

During the board’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, board members approved a tentative “student enrollment projections and capacity” list for Jackson Heights schools in the coming school year, in line with the “school choice” law passed by Kansas lawmakers last year regarding how many out-of-district students a school district was required to accept.

The list, as submitted by Superintendent Jim Howard, set the available class size for kindergarten through 12th grades at 50, with Howard telling board members those class size caps could be subject to revision and that the district would continue to do what it’s already doing when it comes to accepting applications from out-of-district students to attend Jackson Heights schools.

But the subject of bond issues came up after Elementary Principal Daniel Pray said next school year’s kindergarten enrollment was currently at 42 students, although he expected that number to increase by “three to five students who come in after kindergarten round-up.” If it stays at 42, Pray said, that number will be split with 21 students in each of two kindergarten classes, more than the recommended class size of 18.

Howard said Pray’s concern had prompted him to look into the cost of possibly leasing or purchasing a mobile classroom similar to units currently located on the elementary school property, but noted that a “Cadillac” option for a two-classroom mobile with a restroom would involve a $96,000 annual lease for two years and suggested looking at options with lower prices.

Board members expressed concerns with leasing mobile classroom units, particularly if, as Pray noted, the kindergarten enrollment projection for next year might be “a one-year problem.” That led board member David Holliday to suggest that the board “may have to have a conversation about looking at a bond issue” once the district has more solid numbers about the cost of building new or leasing a mobile unit.

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