Despite successful bond election, district in Kansas is denied access to funds

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has blocked millions of dollars in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law. 

The Kansas Reflector reports that voters in the Greeley County school district approved a $4.6 million school bond in May for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds. 

The Attorney General’s Office determines whether any bond issue across the state meets legal standards. It based its Greeley County decision on a state law that requires county election officials to publish notice of an election three weeks in advance on a county election website, in addition to a traditional newspaper notice. 

However, Greeley County, with a population of about 1,200, doesn’t have a website.

The office found the county clerk’s “non-compliance with the website notification” was equal to a failure to follow the law.

Leading up to the May 21 primary, Greeley County School Superintendent John Niehues engaged the community to inform them about the bond. Answers to frequently asked questions and in-depth information about the bond were — and still are — posted on the school district website.

“There was no way anyone in Greeley County could not have known about this school bond,” said Jerri Young, the county clerk, who has acted as the county’s elections official for about 15 years. 

The elections law was poorly written, Young said. State law doesn’t require Kansas counties to operate a website, and no funding was attached to the 2023 bill to ensure they did.

The bond funds would have been spent on a new gymnasium, renovations in the existing gym and a new accessible playground.

The Legislature could remedy the requirement through new or amended legislation. Or the district could hold another election, but there would be no guarantee that a majority of voters would approve a bond question a second time.