Troy Schools Placing $80 Million Bond on April Ballot

LINCOLN COUNTY – Troy voters will be asked to approve an $80 million bond issue that won’t increase the tax levy but will extend it up to 20 years.

If approved by voters, funds generated will be used to expand the Ninth Grade Center by 46,400 feet, allowing it to serve as a second campus for Troy Buchanan High School.

“Troy Buchanan will stay Troy Buchanan and the Ninth Grade Center will be Troy Buchanan South,” said Lincoln County R-3 Community Relations Director Audrey Henebry. “So potentially, all of our 9-12 students could have programming or classes at one or both locations depending on the courses they take.”

Entitled Proposition KIDS, the bond issue will provide funds for the following additions to the Ninth Grade Center:

• – eight traditional classrooms;
• – one choir room;
• – six program specific workshop areas like agriculture, bio-medicine and robotics;
• – six science labs;
• – a tornado safe room.

Henebry said there would be additional security added to the existing entry ways and the cafeteria space would be reconfigured and expanded.

The $80 million would also pay for several improvements at the current high school, including:

• – a multipurpose athletic room adjacent to the gymnasium;
• – an enclosed walkway from the high school to the Hungate Performing Arts Center;
• – reconfigured cafeteria space;
• – remodeling several classrooms for program-specific needs.

There will also be significant improvements made to Hawk Point Elementary, the second oldest building in the district.

Henebry said it would be expanded specifically to meet the needs of special education students and to add a pre-k program. There would also be safety improvements to the entry way and construction of a tornado safe room.

The library at Hawk Point Elementary, which is currently on the second floor without elevator access, would also be relocated to the first floor.

Other district improvements funded by the bond issue would include HVAC improveements at the Ninth Grade Center and Cuivre Park Elementary, roof repairs at Troy Middle School and a new gym floor at Lincoln Elementary.

And while $80 million is a substantial amount of money, Henebry emphasized there wouldn’t be a tax increase and that the district tried to be as “fiscally responsible” as possible.

“The reason we are not pursuing that (two separate high schools) at this time is we are doing our very best to be fiscally responsible for our community because if we went two separate high schools … we would have to ask for a tax increase and we don’t want to do that for our community at this time,” she said. “We can fulfill the needs our programming requires and that our students require by taking on this first step.”

However, Henebry said the idea of two separate high schools remains a future possibility.

“We will continue to explore building out that Ninth Grade Center into a second high school but that probably won’t be for another 5-8 years when we look at completely splitting,” she said.

By extending the existing debt service levy up to 20 years, Henebry said the district will have the financial flexibility to consider adding a second high school, or a third middle school, or whatever needs seem most prevalent.

School Board Races

Troy voters will also elect two members to the school board from a pool of three candidates. Incumbents Randy Siebert and Jim Ladie are both seeking re-election and are being challenged for the three-year term by Hans Stock.

Stock ran in the November 2024 election against Doyle Justus as a Democrat for state representative.

Elsberry Schools have two board positions and three candidates seeking to fill those spots. Incumbents Adam Heitman and David Killian are looking to extend their positions for three years. Carla Talbot is adding her name to the ballot as well.

Winfield Schools has two open positions as well but has six candidates looking to fill them. With only one incumbent, Steve Wilder, seeking reelection, there are five other candidates seeking new terms: Penny Zerr, James Taylor, Christopher Dickmeyer, Timothy Grueninger, and Alan Moran.

Silex has two incumbents, Gabe Twellman and Cody Vehige, running unopposed.