By: Ryan Duey
Photos Courtesy of Ryan Duey and USD 379
USD 379 Superintendent Brett Nelson spoke to Clay Center Lions Club members during their meeting on January 20th. He spoke about the upcoming $10 million Bond election on March 3rd. If passed, the new Bond would help all existing buildings in the District.
Nelson emphasized that this Tax-Neutral Bond is a continuing 6.8 mill level bond that is already in place, and there will be no additional cost to taxpayers. Nelson gave a brief overview of some things the Bond will cover.
“All school buildings are included in the Bond.”
“Safety and security are a big piece, roofing, and ADA compliance; we’re still weak in a few areas.”
“We’re not building anything new, we’re not building new schools, we’re not consolidating anything. We’re not suggesting any program changes.”
“It is safety, security, deferred maintenance, those kinds of things.”
Additionally, the middle school and high school parking lots will be repaired or replaced, along with the addition of a bus lane at the middle school. The gymnasium floor and bleachers in the high school will be replaced, along with all elementary schools receiving playground upgrades, and more.
These improvements are part of a comprehensive facility assessment that was conducted a couple of years ago on all buildings in the district.
Nelson spoke about what may happen if the Bond vote doesn’t pass and the importance of Bonds for schools.
“What happens if the community doesn’t pass this?”
“That means it’s going to get really difficult, and we’ll have to make some really hard decisions.”
“Think about $10 million worth of projects. If it doesn’t pass, we’re going to have to go back and say, What are we not going to do? What are we going to do?”
“With this 10 million, if we did nothing else, it would take us 10 years to accomplish all of these things, and it would not leave any money left over to take care of, say, an HVAC unit that broke, or if something goes wrong in a teacher’s classroom, things like that.”
Early voting will begin in mid-February. On March 3rd, polling stations will be open for same-day voting. More information on the Bond can be found on the District’s website at https://www.usd379.org/page/bond-election-info-march-2026.
