Ellis superintendent: ‘Time to heal,’ work together following bond defeat

By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

ELLIS — USD 388 Superintendent Robert Young admits he had a sleepless night after learning the $8.9 million bond election failed to pass Tuesday — yet he remains hopeful the community can come together for the sake of district’s future.

“We just have to look at it for what it is … hard to dwell on,” Young said. “We still have some major facility needs and we do not have the finances to fix all of those.”

Young said $1 million worth of roof repairs and HVAC improvements are among several critical facility needs the district is facing.

A similar bond election was defeated by Ellis voters last year, and Young said the administration and USD 388 Board of Education will “go back to the table” to discuss options.

“It’s going to take some time to heal from this, to get our legs back underneath us, to get through the next year are two and see where we are at and do the best we can,’ Young said. “But we will eventually have to find something that will work in the minds of the local voters.”

Tuesday’s bond election was defeated by 780-457 but had a nearly 50 percent voter turnout — something Young said he was glad to see.

“I have said all the time … I would feel more more comfortable with the decision if we had a larger group of people (vote) … and if it passed or failed we would do whatever we needed to do and go beyond that” he said. “Fifty percent of the registered voters in our school district voted no, so that is obviously a clear statement.”

Young said the district spends more than $500,000 in maintenance and upkeep every year, yet more improvements and updates are necessary — the reason he keeps asking himself a question every day: “How do I try to come up with the money ?’

Young said he does not have an answer yet as the district is “capped out” in available revenue due to state statute, but he is open to ideas from the community.

He is on the process of generating a list of priorities and discussions will begin at Monday’s USD 388 school board meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Ellis High School, 1706 S. Monroe.